Ethereal Life
by ShinigamiDeathscytheSan
Summary: NOW W/ ALT END! When all the pilots are sent into hiding,Duo is forced to attend High School.Nothing big,right? Wrong,it all takes a turn for the worst when Duo becomes the prey of the school's bully.Can he handle this new life without being caught by OZ?
1. Monday: Hell

**Whoo! so, i finally got around to typing up the first chapter of this fic. long, huh? i'll try to make the next chapters shorter XD **

**anyways, as you can see, this is indeed a gundam wing fic. i've been working on it off and on at school since i'm keeping it stricly to my notebook... anyways, there are a ton of OCs here, infact, Duo is the only cannon character. and i'm also basing the school and several of the teachers off of my own life. :3**

**and a short summarry for this chapter: it's basically Duo's first day. introduces you to everybody and everything. next chapter will be the next day, and so on. i promise it'll get better.**

**anyway, thanks! please review!**

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Ethereal Life

Chapter 1

Monday: Hell

Duo sat in the cramped desk, fiddling with the end of his braid. He stared blankly at his pencil, his mind in a completely different world; the world of his Gundam, and the colonies.

"Mr. Maxwell!" came the sharp voice of his first period teacher, "get to work! I know this is your first day, but this is English class, not your free period."

Duo's head snapped up, shocked at suddenly being pulled back into reality. His violet eyes met with the pale blue ones of his teacher, Ms. Evans. The former pilot instantly frowned. Oh how he hated this new life.

"Just because you are new to this school, doesn't give you the excuse to not work," she went on, causing a few of the students to chuckle.

Duo, feeling defiant, laced his voice with sarcasm as he spoke, even though every word was true, "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but the truth is, I've spent the last few years working a really dangerous job, so I haven't had time to read 'Lord of the Flies'." He smiled slyly.

Now the whole class had its eyes trained on Ms. Evans and the braided boy in the third row from the window.

"Don't lie, young man. Your record specifically says that you just transferred from an American school in the colonies, and you were a perfect student. You should be at the same level as everyone else here," said the English teacher, slightly annoyed but keeping her cool.

Duo continued to smirk at the teacher, still holding his braid. Why did Dr. G have to send him to this terrible place? Why couldn't he just stay in the colonies?

"Who said I was lying?" he said sarcastically, his voice tinted slightly with an angered sorrow.

This made Ms. Evans almost flinch. In all her years of teaching, she had never heard a student use a tone like that. There was something _very_ wrong with this boy. She sighed, "Mr. Maxwell… Duo, I'd like you to stay after class."

Duo frowned, his eyes darkening. "Why?"

"Because I'm the teacher and I said so."

"That's not a valid reason, Ma'am. I don't see why I should stay after class. I didn't do anything wrong. Maybe there's something wrong with you?" mocked Duo, clearly faking innocence.

The whole class laughed.

This was getting absolutely ridiculous. Ms. Evans was angry. "Everyone, quiet! Mr. Maxwell, in the hall, NOW."

Duo grinned, rising from his seat. He walked to the door, whispering "Whatever you say" as he passed the exasperated teacher. This could get very fun; making the lives of his teachers a living hell. Hey, he was a Shinigami after all.

Ms. Evans could barely keep her frustration in check. What was with this kid?! He acted like an adult, but couldn't be more than sixteen! And what was even worse, she could clearly sense that there was something more to this boy, something horrible that she could hardly comprehend.

"Ms. Evans, are you ok?" asked the girl in the front seat, the girl known as 'teacher's pet'.

The English teacher pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm fine. Just please, everyone get back to work."

-

Outside in the hall, Duo sat on the floor by the door, smirking to himself. He looked out the window across from him, watching as clouds blew by. He couldn't help but wonder how Heero had managed to transfer from school to school and not go insane. School was definitely a terrible place.

While Duo was lost in his musings, he didn't even hear the door beside him creak open. He almost jumped as Ms. Evans spoke, but managed to catch himself.

"Mr. Maxwell, you may come in now," she said with absolutely no emotion.

Duo frowned and rose to his feet. He stepped past the teacher and into the classroom. He knew everyone's eyes were on him, but he didn't care. He walked straight to his desk and sat down.

In the next moment, the bell signaling the end of class rang. All the students rose, rushing from the room. Duo remained where he was, however, knowing full well of his impending doom.

Ms. Evans sat at her desk. "Duo, would you please come here?"

Silently, Duo got up and walked to the English teacher's desk. He kept a straight face, even though he would much rather be scowling.

"Duo…" she started, looking into the former pilot's violet eyes. "I know this is your first day here and that you're nervous, but you still need to do your work. I'm letting you off with a warning for today, but next time you mouth off I'm going to have to give you a referral. Do you understand?"

Duo opened his mouth to speak, "Yes, but—"

Ms. Evans held up a finger, "No buts."

The teacher got up, walking around her desk to stand next to the teen, "Duo, if you ever need anything, I'm here to help. Now get your stuff and go to your next class, and don't be late, ok?"

Duo nodded and walked back to his desk. He grabbed the large black backpack and headed to the door. As he was leaving, he turned back to see Ms. Evans staring absently ahead in wonder.

Walking down the hall, Duo pulled out his schedule. Gym class next. The former pilot headed outside to the lunch area. The gym shouldn't be too hard to find, in fact he could see the large building right past the outdoor lockers.

Following the other boys, Duo entered the locker room. Not knowing what locker was his, he walked into the small office overlooking the area. At a desk in the tiny room, sat who Duo supposed was the P.E. teacher.

"Ah, you must be Duo Maxwell. I'm Mr. Carter, nice to meet you," said the teacher. The middle-aged man flipped through a binder on his desk, finally pulling out a small sheet of paper. He handed it to Duo, "Here's your locker number and combination. Your roll-call number is twenty-three, by the way. And you'll be participating in P.E. today, alright?"

Duo nodded, "Thanks."

As the former pilot turned to leave, Mr. Carter looked at him skeptically, wondering why in the world the boy had a three foot-long braid.

Duo found his locker, squeezing past the other boys to the middle of the isle. Pulling out a heap of clothes from his backpack, he changed into the gray and red uniform. After slipping on the pair of sneakers Hilde had forced him to buy months ago, Duo followed everyone out to the blacktop.

There, everyone seemed to be standing on numbers painted on the ground. Right, roll-call. Duo found his number and waited as Mr. Carter walked by.

"Ok, class," started the gym teacher loudly, forcing the chattering sophomores to quiet down. "Everyone, head out to the field; today we're gonna play flag-football!"

Duo began to walk out towards the field, trying to think of a way to mess up this class as well. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything except to start a fight, which was definitely out of the question. The former pilot decided, as much as he hated to, that he'd play nice for gym class. With luck, he might even have some fun, but that was highly unlikely.

As Duo and the other students gathered around the edge of the large expanse of grass, Mr. Carter called for everyone's attention again with a squeak from his whistle.

"Today, we're not gonna play in groups, we're gonna go by roll-call numbers. Odds get the yellow flags, Evens you get the red." He kicked at an old box at his feet; that up until now had gone unnoticed.

One of the girls spoke up from the back, "Why can't we play boys-against-girls?" there were a handful of "Yeah"s from the other students.

Mr. Carter seemed to get this question a lot, as his answer seemed a tad overused, "We will another time, Ms. Brooks. Now, Yellows, I want you over there, by the fence. Reds are over here."

Duo couldn't help but sigh. At this school he was just one of the other idiots, nothing special. As he slipped on the belt with two little yellow flags he wondered, _'Is this how the rest of my life will be? How can all those other kids be content with a life like this?'_

Before he knew it, the former pilot was at the far end of the field with the other half of the class. He was snapped back into reality by the voice of someone whispering behind him.

"That new kid, yeah, the one with the braid… He's so _weird!_ I bet he does drugs, yeah, that's it. I bet he's gonna totally suck at football too," the girl's hurried whispers were followed by a muffled sound of disgust.

Defiance sparked in Duo's chest again. Just because of what that girl said, he was actually going to play. He was going to show them that he _wasn't_ just another idiot and that he _was _something special.

Duo's eyes narrowed as he looked out at the field. In the middle, between the two teams, the football lay on the ground. He could see the boys on the opposite team waiting anxiously for the game to begin.

For a split second, the largest teen on the other side locked eyes with Duo, glaring dangerously. The former pilot felt his body tense at the murderous intent.

However, after the shortest of moments, Mr. Carter blew his whistle, starting the game.

Duo let his body fall into stealth mode as he raced forward. The former pilot almost had the ball, when out of nowhere; the glaring boy from the other team grabbed it.

The large teen shoved Duo to the ground, ramming into the smaller sophomore's shoulder. Subconsciously, the former pilot took note of how he was careful to make the collision look completely accidental.

Duo lay in the grass for a few moments, dazed; his right shoulder was throbbing painfully. Distantly, he heard Mr. Carter's whistle blow and people gather around him. The former pilot pushed himself up into a sitting position, forcing himself to ignore the burning in his shoulder.

Mr. Carter knelt down in front of the braided teen, "You alright, Duo?"

The former pilot rose to his feet. "Yeah," he nodded, rolling his shoulder. Duo smiled, even though anger and frustration were running through his veins.

Mr. Carter looked at Duo skeptically. The teacher then turned, blowing his whistle at the boy from the other team. "Dugan, go back to your side. Everyone, we're restarting!" he called.

It was then that Duo noticed that the teen who had shoved him, Dugan, was still at the other end of the field. The larger sophomore smirked at the former pilot, as if to say "I'm gonna kill you as soon as I get the chance." His malicious intent seemed to go unnoticed by everyone else.

As Duo walked back to his team's side of the field, Dugan passed him. The larger sophomore bumped into Duo, turning to glare at the former pilot.

"Watch it," growled Dugan, "Or someone's gonna beat the crap outta your braided hide."

Duo glared daggers at the larger sophomore, unknowingly hastening his inevitable doom.

As everyone gathered at their ends of the field, the former pilot took a position near the front of his team. He was determined to get the ball before Dugan this time.

As the _skree_ of Mr. Carter's whistle rent through the air, Duo sped towards the ball.

It wasn't until the former pilot has the football in his arms, that he saw Dugan lumbering towards him. Duo barely dodged the larger teen's arm, ducking under him.

The former pilot raced to the other end of the field, weaving through the Red team.

"Hey! Over Here!" the call caused Duo to glance up, coming to a halt.

He saw a girl with a yellow belt just past the opposing team. She was waving her arms at Duo, motioning for him to toss her the ball.

Nodding, Duo launched the football into the air. Only a split second later, a Red yanked off one of his flags.

Realizing that he had reacted too late, the Red cussed and threw the yellow banner to the ground.

Duo ran for the end of the field, pushing past the last bit of the other team. He motioned for the girl, who was narrowly avoiding loosing her flags, to toss him the ball.

The girl smiled and threw the football to the former pilot.

Duo leapt into the air, catching it with ease.

"…Aaand TOUCH DOWN!!!"

Mr. Carter's cry was followed by the shrill blow of his whistle.

The girl ran up to Duo, holding up her hand to give him a high-five.

Duo smiled, returning the gesture.

"You're awesome!" she said, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, I'm Dianne, by the way. Dianne Roth."

"And I'm Duo Maxwell," he smiled.

Dianne raised an eyebrow, "Well I've never met anyone with that name before…"

A smirk crept onto the former pilot's face, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Heeey," she poked him in the stomach.

Mr. Carter's whistle blew again, "Everyone, back to your sides! Quickly!"

Duo and Dianne jogged back to the Yellow's side of the field.

The game began again, with Duo racing for the ball. Only now, more kids from the yellow team helped the former pilot score.

After about five more rounds, the 'ten-minute' bell rang and everyone began to head to the locker rooms.

"That sure was fun!" grinned Dianne as the two walked off the field.

Duo smiled a genuine smile, having actually enjoyed this class. "You got that right. Who knew, this school might not be that bad after all."

"Well, I wouldn't say that just yet. The day's not even half over," she scowled slightly.

"Hn?" Duo wasn't expecting Dianne's dark tone. Hell, she could probably pull off being one of those 'Goths' if she tried to.

She shook her head, "You'll find out soon enough." Her tone became sarcastic again, "Well, I don't think I'm aloud in the boys' locker room. Meet ya' at the numbers!"

Duo hadn't even noticed that they were at the locker rooms already. He went in to go change as Dianne walked to the girls' lockers.

-

Duo shoved his P.E. clothes into the tiny locker. He buttoned up the shirt of his Priest's uniform and fixed his collar. He kicked at his locker, slamming it shut. He picked up his black backpack, placing it on the bench.

The former pilot glanced around inconspicuously before opening said pack. He reached in, feeling around for something. He mentally nodded as his fingers reached the familiar cold metal of his gun. Duo knew it wasn't wise to keep the weapon with him on campus, but he'd rather have it and get in trouble. It could mean fatal if he ended up in a situation where he needed the gun, but didn't have it; especially if it meant getting caught by OZ or not.

Duo shook his head, forcing himself to remain focused. He zipped up the backpack and exited the locker room, heading towards the roll call numbers.

Not seeing Dianne, the former pilot went to wait on his number.

Suddenly, Duo felt a tug on his braid. "What the—" he whirled around, scowling. _Nobody_ touched his braid and got away with their lives.

The former pilot stopped short, seeing Dianne standing behind him. She smiled.

"'Ello. Was that an 'I hate school' glare?" she laughed.

Duo relaxed, not realizing that his body had gone rigid. "Sorry, I'm just not used to people sneaking up behind me… it usually doesn't end well when that happens…"

Dianne raised an eyebrow at him again, smiling. "If you keep talking like that, I might start thinkin' you're dangerous or somethin'! If I didn't know any better, I might say you brought a weapon to school, maybe even a gun… " she looked up at him with false skepticism.

Duo laughed, doing his best to sound lighthearted and not divulge the truth. The girl had absolutely no idea that she had just hit the nail on the head.

She poked him again.

The former pilot poked back. He smiled at Dianne, taking in her appearance for the first time.

She had straight black hair that just barely brushed her shoulders and deep, blue eyes. She wore a tight black t-shirt with some sort of band logo printed on the front; it looked like it had been around awhile. Dianne also wore a short, pleated skirt. That was black as well. She had a pair of onyx combat boots that went all the way up to her knees.

"You know," Duo said, "for someone so nice, you sure do wear a lot of black."

"Why, thank you," Dianne grinned, curtseying. "And I could say the same about you… what are you wearing anyways? A priest's outfit?" she raised an eyebrow at him again.

Duo nodded, "Yeah, it—"

But he was cut off by Mr. Carter's whistle, "Class, on your numbers! When the bell rings, nobody's leavin' till everybody is on their numbers!" he looked over the large group of sophomores, "Ms. Brooks, your classmates would appreciate it if you stop talking long enough to hear me and do what I say."

There was a slight chuckle among the students as April Brooks huffed and stomped to her surrogate desk.

Only a few seconds later, the sad excuse for a bell echoed through the high school campus, coming from the multiple ancient intercoms.

Duo pulled his schedule out from his pocket, walking over to Dianne. She looked over at the paper, leaning over his arm as they walked.

"Oooh, so what do you have next? I've got Spanish."

Duo searched for his next class, "Um, I have history in room E7; any idea where that is?"

The shorter girl stood on her toes, "Oh, the E wing is over there," she pointed to the building facing the field they had been playing on only moments ago. "Just walk around there a bit, and I'm sure you'll find it… So what do you have fourth period?"

"Math in I3"

Dianne made a face of disgust, "That sucks… I had her last year. Mrs. Fisher is a pretty nasty teacher. Ok, so that's in the main building, but you can get to it from the other side, see?" she pointed around the school's oldest complex. "We have English in there, but on the other side."

Now it was Duo's turn to raise the eyebrow, "We have English together?"

Dianne nodded, "Yup. I sit diagonal from you; but I guess you wouldn't notice, bein' sent out in the hall and all…"

"Ha, ha," the former pilot laughed sarcastically. "Well I better get to class, as much as I don't want to. See ya later, Dianne."

"Bye!" as he began to walk away, she called out to him, "Hey, Duo! Meet me by the locker cages after fourth period, 'kay?!"

"Sure," replied the braided teen as Dianne ambled off.

Duo stopped for a second, taking in this part of the campus. From where he stood, he could see doors leading into the main building, _'That must be where math is.'_ There was also a long string of classrooms stretching from the front complex all the way to four rows of even more rooms. Dianne had disappeared down one of those. Behind him, across a short expanse of trampled grass and cement, there was a much newer building full of classes. That was where Duo was headed.

The former pilot hurried to his history class; even though his internal clock told him that passing-period wasn't nearly over yet.

As he entered the classroom, Duo went straight to the teacher's desk. An older man sat at said specialized table; he looked up at the former pilot over a thick pair of glasses.

"Yes?" said the teacher.

"Um, I'm new…" mumbled Duo. His anger towards the school and his new life was somewhat subdued after gym class, but that could easily change.

The teacher stood, "Oh, right. And I take it you're Duo Maxwell?"

He nodded.

The teacher outstretched his hand, smiling, "I'm Mr. Reynolds."

Duo shook hands with the teacher, grinning as well. The smile didn't reach his violet eyes, however.

"Ok, so your desk is…" Mr. Reynolds scanned the classroom, "in the back corner over there."

Without another word, Duo sauntered over to his desk. Dropping his backpack, he sat down heavily in the cold seat.

A few moments later, the bell rang. Mr. Reynolds got up, walking to his podium at the front of the room.

"Good morning class. Everyone turn to page two-hundred and fifty-three," he opened his own book. "Who remembers one of the ways the industrial revolution was spread?"

Duo mentally groaned as several students anxiously raised their hands.

"Yes, Justin?"

A tall boy a few rows over answered, his voice mirroring a toothy grin.

The former pilot leaned over his desk, struggling to drone out the sound of his classmates reading from the textbook. He was somewhat amazed at how kids could stand doing such tedious work every day. And yet, they could probably never imagine the freedom, and terror, that Duo had experienced in his life.

About halfway through the period, Mr. Reynolds handed out a worksheet for everyone to do.

As the paper flopped onto Duo's desk, the teen simply ignored it, yet again refusing to work. The former pilot figured if he got expelled, or even suspended, then he wouldn't have to go to school anymore. Little did he know, however, that one way or another, he'd be stuck in school until he graduated.

A few moments went by and Mr. Reynolds began to walk around the room, making sure everyone was doing the worksheet. When he passed Duo's row, he stopped and came over to the former pilot's desk.

"Is there any reason why you're not working, Duo?" the teacher asked kindly.

Now was Duo's chance. He looked up at Mr. Reynolds, once again smiling with that mock innocence. The teen made a point to talk loud enough for the whole class to hear, "Actually, yes. I'm not doing my work because I don't understand why we're learning about such pointless things. What we should be learning about is the war between Earth and the Colonies, not how they built a train. And there's really no point in learning all this _shit_, since everybody here is just going to forget it after the test." Duo continued to smile slyly.

Several students gasped. Who was this kid? _Nobody_ questioned why they were forced to learn what they did, but someone finally asked. And all the students knew, Duo Maxwell would be punished for his bravery.

"Honestly," the former pilot continued, "the only event that really matters right now is the war. What lead up to it? Why are we fighting? What are the Alliance and Romefeller doing to stop the killing?" Duo had crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, looking nonchalant. "If you ask me, those two are just makin' it all worse. All the colonies will be destroyed by the time they end the fighting."

Mr. Reynolds was appalled, how could someone so young understand so much about the war? Even he didn't know that much… "Mr. Maxwell, I'm sorry our curriculum doesn't meet your expectations, but this is what the state says I must teach. And as a student, it is your duty to participate and to learn. Do you understand? If you don't, I will have to give you a referral, and I'm sure your parents will not like to hear that. Now please, do your work."

Duo turned away, his eyes darkening. "My parents are dead," he whispered.

The first crack in an almost perfect façade.

"What was that?" asked Mr. Reynolds, doubting if he heard the former pilot correctly. He hoped he didn't.

"My parents, my family, everyone close to me died because of this damn war…" Duo's tone remained quiet.

The history teacher became consumed by guilt, "I-I'm terribly sorry..."

"Forget it." the former pilot's tone had snapped from sad to angry in a split second. Duo grit his teeth, grabbing a pencil from his backpack. Ignoring the stares from the other students, he began to scribble down answers onto his worksheet. He already knew them anyway.

Feeling out of place, Mr. Reynolds walked back to his desk. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Duo, but the sophomore had outright questioned his authority.

Mr. Reynolds sat down in his plush chair, unable to get the braided teen's words out of his head.

"…_everyone close to me died because of this damn war…"_

For the rest of the class, several students were whispering to each other. But Duo managed to drone out the constant chatter and push down his emotions by focusing on his paper. If he thought he had been angry with his new life before, he was definitely pissed now. These people were embarrassingly ignorant of the war. They wouldn't know who it was if Zechs himself slapped them in the face.

As the former pilot scribbled down answers, a nearby conversation sparked his attention.

"Oh my god, how does that kid know so much about the war? He just gives me the creeps!"

"Seriously! And listen to this; he's from the colonies, right? Well, I heard that he's really a spy for the rebels!"

"No way! So do you think, like, he's got all kinds of spy stuff with him?"

Duo barely stifled a dark chuckle.

"Probably… he definitely looks like a spy though. I bet he's like super strong too. He could probably kill you with one hit," the girl punched the air in front of her, as if to kill it in one blow.

"If he's a spy, though, then why is he here? There's absolutely nothin' but a Starbucks in this town."

"I don't know… oh wait! My dad said something about OZ, or something, having a secret base up in the hills! That's got to be why!"

Duo clenched his fists. If the little tip was true, then the Shinigami would be paying that base a visit, _soon_.

"And did you hear what he said a few minutes ago?" the girl's voice suddenly became serious.

"What?"

"He said that his family all died… I feel kinda bad for him…"

"Yeah… you're right. I could never imagine loosing my mom and dad… especially like that."

Thankfully, the bell rang before the girls could get into more detail in their conversation.

Duo shoved his paper into his backpack and stood. He grabbed the black pack and squeezed past the other students, making his way out the door and into the cool fall morning.

-

Duo was in a sour mood as he sat in his math class. Mrs. Fisher had given him a seat in the very front; he instantly hated her. The braided teen watched, bored, as the teacher gave notes using the class's SmartBoard, a giant interactive computer screen.

"Why are you not taking notes?"

Duo didn't even realize that Mrs. Fisher was standing in front of his desk, looking utterly annoyed.

"Huh?" he stammered for a second, earning a suppressed chuckle from the other students. "Oh, right. I already know this. It's as easy as '2 plus 2'." He smiled that sly 'I'm better than you' grin yet again.

"Fine," she unconsciously pushed up her glasses with one finger. Duo couldn't help think for a second, that if his teacher had been blonde, she would've looked like Lady Une's twin. "If you say it's so easy, then why don't you do the first example problem?" she barked, roughly handing him the fake pen that went to the SmartBoard. Yep, definitely Une's twin.

Silently, Duo rose and stepped to the interactive screen. He quickly read over the problem and began to scrawl down the answer. Even though it was the complex formula of calculating possible outcomes, it didn't take long for him to figure it out in his mind's eye. Hey, he was a Gundam pilot after all, finding probabilities was vital to what he did out there.

In just under a minute, Duo was back in his seat, grinning coyly.

"That's exactly what I got," gawked a girl a few moments later.

To all the other occupants of the room, it had looked like the former pilot had simply written down a random set of numbers.

Mrs. Fisher was shocked, "Good job…" After that, she began to explain the problem, clarifying Duo's answer.

Finally, the end of class came and everyone rushed out the door to lunch. Duo, however, was stopped before he could make it out.

"Duo, could you come here please?" asked Mrs. Fisher. Yet again, her tone reminded him of Lady Une.

Holding his backpack by the strap, he walked up to the teacher's desk. "What is it?" he asked. His tone contained his usual optimism, but it was tinted slightly by annoyance.

She looked up at him through oval glasses, "How were you able to answer that problem so quickly? I know for a fact that they haven't taught this subject in the colonies yet," her amazement was clear.

Duo made the annoyance in his tone obvious, "I'm just good at that kind of stuff. I have… had to be," his tone darkened for a moment, briefly remembering the fact that he had been removed from his duty as a Gundam pilot.

"Oh," Mrs. Fisher looked down at her desk. She didn't like Duo's saddened voice; it didn't seem to fit him. "You may go."

With that said, the former pilot slung his backpack over his shoulder and left; he had to meet Dianne at the lockers.

-

Exiting the bustling hallway, Duo made his way through the crowded courtyard.

Out of nowhere, the former pilot suddenly felt a powerful force slam into the side of his head. He stumbled, barely keeping himself standing as stars danced across his vision. Instinctively, he spun around and clenched his fists, ready to pummel whoever dared attack him.

Duo came to a sudden halt, only seeing a jumble of students on their way to lunch. The braided teen sighed, putting a hand to his now throbbing head. He turned, continuing on his way to the lockers.

-

Meanwhile, Dugan and two other boys blended into the crowd, completely inconspicuous. They were laughing with a malicious intent,

"And _that_ is only the first of what is to come," snickered Dugan.

"Yeah, that freak Maxwell's goin' down," agreed one of the others.

-

Duo finally made it to the lockers; he looked around for Dianne. Spotting the girl, he put on his smiling façade and walked over to her. She grinned upon seeing him.

Even though he wasn't in the best of moods, the braided teen couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed the smudges of purple paint on her cheek and nose.

"What?" she asked, quirking her eyebrow yet again, "Is there paint on my face, _again_?!"

Duo continued to chuckle, his dark mood lifting, "Hello to you too. And yes, there is; here and here," he pointed on his face to show her where the paint was.

She let out a bit of an exasperated sigh and began to furiously rub her nose, trying to rid it of the colorful substance. After a few moments, she finally managed to get it all off. "Always. I always get paint on my face in art class…" she shook her head. "So anyways, let's go get lunch." Dianne motioned for Duo to follow her as she began to head over to the cafeteria.

-

Duo and Dianne sat at a sunny table with their lunch. They were now in the large area between the rows of classrooms and the history building.

The former pilot took a bite of his pizza, nearly gagging. "Bleh! This is almost as bad as Heero's cooking!"

Dianne burst out laughing, "I know huh? …Wait, who's Heero?" the Japanese name felt strange on her tongue.

Duo chuckled as well, "He's a guy I used to work with. _Very_ dedicated to what we did. I'd say one of the only reasons you could tell he wasn't some robot was that he burned everything he tried to cook." Duo smiled at the memory of the 'perfect soldier' nearly setting the safe house kitchen on fire.

Dianne giggled, "Sounds like a cool guy. Is he cute?"

Duo looked at the girl like she was crazy.

She laughed again, blushing lightly, "Oh right. You wouldn't pay attention to that stuff, now would you?"

"No, not really," he laughed.

"So what exactly did you do up in the colonies anyway?" she leaned forward a bit.

Duo took a second to think this over; he couldn't exactly tell her that he was a Gundam pilot… but he had to say something. "Well for a while I was living with my girlfriend. She owns a scrap yard and we worked there together…" his voice faded out. "But enough about me, tell me somethin' about you."

Dianne looked at him skeptically for a moment. He was hiding something from her, and she wanted to know what it was, but that would have to wait.

"Well," she said around a mouthful of pizza, "I live with my mom… but she's never home cuz of her job… I only get to see her for a few days out of the month. It's been like this since I was about thirteen; pretty sucky, huh?"

Duo shook his head, "At least you have a mom. I've been an orphan on the street for as long as I can remember…"

Dianne gasped. She could clearly sense that their conversation was taking a turn for the worst and instantly changed the subject. "So anyways, since you're new, you don't know anything about this school, am I right?"

He nodded.

"Alright, so for starters, I'll tell you about status here. You see, all us students belong in a sort of monarchy. But the thing is, all the teachers are oblivious to it. They don't even notice when a kid is being bullied right in front of 'em. See those kids over there?" Dianne nodded past Duo, towards the only shaded table, in the corner by the music room. "All of them pretty much control the school. With them at the top, there's all the druggies next, then the football team and other sports, then the average kids, and finally, the nerds and wierdos like us."

"Damn… and none of the adults notice?" these 'student rankings' amazed Duo. He would've never thought that kids, other than the Gundam pilots, could be so cruel.

"Nope, they could care less. Anyways, all of us who aren't at the top pretty much all live in fear of our 'rulers.' You never know when they're gonna get ya."

"Jeez… who are these kids anyway?"

Dianne chuckled, "Well, at the very top, there's Dugan Berry and his girlfriend, April Brooks. You should know Dugan by now."

"Yeah sure do," Duo unconsciously rubbed his shoulder, even though it no longer hurt. "And April Brooks too, she sure is a snob…" _like Relena_, he thought.

Dianne gave him a funny look then began to giggle.

"What?" he asked, laughing too.

"Who says 'snob'?! Ha, ha I've never heard someone say that with a straight face before!" she continued to laugh.

Suddenly, Dianne's eyes widened, "Duo! Look out!" she cried, all humor lost from her voice.

At that instant, the former pilot sensed a now familiar malicious intent directly behind him. He ducked down as fast as his trained reflexes would allow. A fraction of a moment later, Duo felt a powerful fist swoop over him. He instantly knew who it was who had hit him in the head earlier.

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here, the _nerd_ and the _freak_."

Duo jumped to his feet, facing Dugan. "And look who we have here, the bully who can't stand the thought of someone stronger and more popular than himself," he mocked. Even though he was almost a foot shorter, the former pilot glared up at Dugan, amethyst eyes blazing.

"And who might this stronger person be?" growled the bully.

"Me," was all Duo said.

Dugan laughed; it sounded like a dying animal. "Oh, so the _freak_ thinks he's better than me, huh?"

"I believe that's what I just said," the former pilot continued to glare at the bully, his eyes conveying multiple emotions; none of which could be deciphered by the larger sophomore.

"Fine," an almost feral grin spread across Dugan's pimpled face. "We'll see if it's true. Tomorrow after school, out by the abandoned classrooms. Be there, or I will put an end to you." With that said, Dugan turned on his heel, making his way back to the 'royalty' table.

Dianne, who hadn't said a word the entire time, finally spoke, "Duo… Duo you're insane!! He's gonna kill you!" she jumped up, running around the table to hug him tightly.

Duo hesitated for a second before wrapping his arms around her, his smile back in its place. "Don't worry, Dianne. I'll beat him. I'll beat him and then we'll take his place at the top of the school."

Dianne looked up at him, cobalt eyes watering, "Duo Maxwell, you are the craziest person I ever met."

He laughed, "Thank you."

-

Duo and Dianne were back at their table.

"Right, so you need to know the rest about the 'royalty,'" Dianne said, crossing her arms. "Well, Dugan has two minions that serve underneath him. They're almost as strong as he is, and the three are deadly when they come at you all at once."

"Huh, well that's usually the case. And bad guys like that never play fair." Duo commented.

Dianne nodded, "Exactly. Their names are Lewis Michaels and Julian Howard. Lewis is the carrot-top," she nodded towards the shady table again.

From where he sat, Duo could see a tall boy with a shock of red hair. There was another teen with spiky brown and bleached-blonde hair as well. Both minions were quite tall, but still shorter than Dugan.

"And finally," said Dianne, calling back Duo's attention. "There's April's followers. Since April is the most preppy and conceited bitch in existence, she's got two followers; who just so happen to date Julian and Lewis. So the blonde one over there is Ashlee Conrad, and the brunette is Kimberly Brown. If you call her anything but 'Kimberly' she'll have Julian beat you into next week… at least that's what I heard," she shrugged. "Anyway, those two are just as preppy as April. If I were you, I'd do my best to avoid them all."

Duo couldn't help but shake his head. The braided teen opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he might've said was droned out by the sudden ringing of the bell.

Duo groaned, "Isn't school over yet?"

Dianne gave him an encouraging smile, "Only two more classes! And trust me, it'll go fast… alright, so I got history now… bye!" she grabbed her backpack and waved, heading to her class.

Duo smiled, grabbing his bag. He pulled out his schedule. Now he had to go be a 'teacher's aide' for some PE teacher. He began to walk towards the gym, making his way past hundreds of other students.

Not knowing exactly where to go, Duo went back to the boy's locker room, to Mr. Carter's office.

"Back again, Duo?" the PE teacher asked.

"Yeah… um, I'm supposed to TA for" he glanced at his schedule, "Someone named Alberrs."

"Oh, she's a freshman PE teacher. She'll be in the gym."

"Ok, thanks," said Duo.

"And you can leave your stuff in here if you want," offered Mr. Carter.

The former pilot nodded, dropping his backpack in the corner. He was hoping with all he had that the teacher wouldn't look inside it.

Duo then made his way into the gym. He waited there for a few moments.

Without warning, several students poured into the building. All of them, boys and girls, went to stand on roll-call numbers printed on the floor.

A young woman, a few years older than Noin, walked into the gym as well. Duo stepped up to her.

"Are you Ms. Alberrs?" asked Duo.

"Yes," She nodded, taking note of the teen's long braid. She instantly thought badly of him. "But you can call me Ms. A, and I take it you're Duo Maxwell?" for some reason, she had expected the former pilot to be more… average looking. To her, Duo looked like a trouble maker, like the kind of kid who wouldn't hesitate to get into fights or play cruel pranks on all his teachers. And she was somewhat right.

"That's me alright," Ms. A looked nice enough to Duo, and at the moment, he honestly didn't mind helping out, "Is there anything you need me to do?"

She was surprised by the tone of his voice, as it did not sound mocking of cruel like she had expected. "Oh, if you could take roll, that would be wonderful." Miss A handed him her clipboard. "Just put an X by their name if they're not here."

As Duo took roll, he absently began to wonder about making plans for after school. He definitely wanted to do a recon of the school campus, but that would have to wait until later in the day. He could always start researching that tip he got about the OZ base up in the hills. The sooner he blew them to hell, the better.

After roll-call, Ms, A instructed the other students to do a series of warm-up stretches. Many of the students complained about how many jumping jacks or push-ups they had to do. Duo couldn't help but chuckle, he was lucky if he had to do five times as much when he was training to be a Gundam pilot.

After several minutes, Ms. A then led the students out to the tennis courts. Duo had to carry the bag stuffed with rackets.

The braided teen managed to get out of work for the rest of the class. He simply had to endure the suspicious looks the teacher kept throwing at him.

Keeping up his smiling and joking façade, Duo went to lean against the fence next to Ms. A. he crossed his arms, grinning at the teacher, "So…"

"Yes?" she turned to face him, glaring slightly. Even though he was acting nice, she couldn't help but expect him to turn on everyone without warning.

Duo sighed, crossing his arms, "Earth sure is nice, don't ya think?" he could tell that the teacher didn't like him, but he was going to be nice anyway; especially if it was annoying to her. As long as he wasn't going to have to do any real work, the former pilot was going to enjoy this class.

Ms. A went back to watching the other students, "I guess so. Life must be al lot different up in the colonies."

Duo's grin widened, "Yeah, well the weather's always the same, that's for sure."

Ms. A didn't reply, instead she opened the binder she held, and started to mark on a piece of paper, constantly glancing at her class.

"Fine then," Duo mumbled, staring up at nothing.

The rest of the class went by in silence between the two. This, however, gave Duo a chance to get a bit more familiar with his surroundings.

He mentally inspected the neighborhood surrounding the school, the soldier in him on high alert. Eventually, he concluded that it was normal enough, at the moment.

Finally, it was time for everyone to head in. Duo walked back to the locker room.

As he followed the other boys into the building, the former pilot entered Mr. Carter's office. He went to his backpack, glad to find it exactly as he had left it.

Duo then sauntered out to the gym, where Ms. A's class was gathering. The teacher managed to toss him one last suspecting glare before the bell rang and he rushed out of the building.

As Duo merged with the group of passing students, he yanked out his crumpled schedule yet again.

Biology in G-3

The former pilot was glad, however, because this was his last class for the day.

Duo headed for the lunch area. He had managed to get a glance at a campus map in the hall earlier, so he knew where he was headed. The braided teen's next class was in the long strip of rooms facing the lunch courtyard.

Duo made it to his Biology class without much trouble. As he walked in, he was surprised to see Dianne sitting alone in the back. She didn't notice him.

Following his routine of the day, Duo went to the teacher's desk.

"Can I help you?" asked the biology teacher. The man was leaning back in his chair, feet up on the desk.

Duo nodded, smirking, "Yeah, I'm Duo Maxwell, I'm new."

The teacher leaned forward, feet going to the floor. "Oh right, right. Nice to meet you." He held out his hand and Duo shook it. "I'm Mr. Johnson," continued the teacher, "sit wherever you like."

Duo nodded and made his way to the back of the class. The former pilot smiled, now seeing that Dianne had her nose in a book.

Quietly, duo walked up behind her, and covered her eyes with his hands. "Guess who?" he said, his wide grin evident in his voice.

"Ah!" Dianne jumped slightly in surprise; she put her hands over Duo's, taking them from her eyes. She turned, "Duo! Hi! I can't believe we have Bio together!"

The former pilot took the seat next to her, grinning from ear to ear.

As the bell rang, a worksheet was passed out to everyone in the class.

Dianne groaned, "Not _more_ work!"

Duo chuckled, "I know, huh?" he flipped the page over, quickly reading over all the questions. Photosynthesis. He had learned this back when he had to go to school on L-2.

Dianne dropped off from her stool, "I'm gonna go get a book."

While she was gone, Duo took out his pencil and began working. The worksheet was easy and only took him a few moments.

"You're done already?!" exclaimed Dianne. She was just barely halfway done when he had finished.

"Yeah… it was really easy," he said slowly, as if to point out the obvious.

"Ha, says you," she retorted, turning back to her work.

Pushing his work to the edge of the table, Duo crossed his arms, leaning over said surface. He began to daydream of ways to blow up that OZ base.

A little while later, Duo found a hand waving in his face, calling for his attention. Blinking, he quickly sat up, turning to Dianne, "W-what?"

She chuckled quietly, "You zoned out for like half the period!"

Duo ran a hand through his unruly bangs, "Sorry… that happens to me sometimes."

She giggled again, "So… do you, like, get a ride home, or walk?"

He smiled, "I gotta walk. What about you?"

"Walk," she nodded, "I live over on Valley Street."

Duo quirked an eyebrow, "Isn't that right by H Street?"

"Yeah," Dianne confirmed, "my house is right on the corner of Valley and H."

He smiled, "Well I guess we live by each other, then."

"Really?!" she said, smiling excitedly.

Duo nodded, "Yep. I'm the first one in the apartment complex there." The former pilot honestly didn't see anything wrong with telling her where he lived. He knew he could trust her. Heero, however, would definitely give him one of his rare lectures if he ever found out.

As quiet and stoic as Heero seemed to be, he had the capability of being even louder than Duo at times. And of course, the braided teen had experienced quite a few of these outbursts. Heero had blown up at him for almost half an hour after he had been captured by OZ. and the Wing Zero pilot had practically exploded at Duo once when the American wouldn't stop annoying him for a whole day.

Dianne waved her hand in front of Duo's face yet again. His eyes had gone dark and distant, as if he was staring at some distant memory.

"Hey..,! What's with all the spacing out? You ok?" she asked, slightly worried.

Duo quickly pushed his carefree, smiling façade back into place, "Yeah, I'm great. I was just thinkin' about somethin'…"

"Oh…" Dianne had the strangest feeling that the former pilot was not telling her everything.

After a few quiet moments, the bell rang, and the two followed the other students out of the classroom.

Duo and Dianne began walking towards home.

"Yes! It's finally over!" exclaimed Duo enthusiastically.

Dianne laughed, "Yes, but don't forget to do all your homework!"

The braided teen smiled deviously, "No way."

She smirked, "Fine then, but don't come crying to me when you get detention for a week."

It wasn't long until the two teens were almost home, going their separate ways.

Duo waved to Dianne, watching her enter her house on the corner. He then continued to make his way down the street, finally stopping as he reached his tiny apartment.

Soldier instincts forcing him to be alert, Duo glanced around, looking for anything suspicious before entering his home. He closed the door behind him, locking it. Finally, he relaxed.

Duo dropped his bag on the floor and kicked off his shoes. He then walked through the small living room to his bedroom. He sat at his computer desk and booted up his laptop.

Duo then began hacking into the OZ website. He ran a search for any of their bases near where he was. After only a few moments of searching, the braided teen found it.

That girl had been right; there was an OZ base in the hills outside of town.

Duo looked at the clock, contemplating whether or not he should infiltrate the base today. He eventually decided to wait until later that week, so he could prepare.

Since the OZ base was far enough from town, Duo could set off a bomb in the facility without the civilians nearby getting hurt. It would be easy.

Duo already had all the components to cook up the bomb he would need.

The braided teen sighed, leaning back in his chair. He then shut down his computer.

Duo stood, walking out of the room. He was going to do a recon of his neighborhood and school.

He opened up his black backpack, taking the handgun from inside it. He also took out a holster that went under his shirt, unnoticeable. Once he was situated, Duo left the little apartment.

-

The late autumn sun was already beginning to set when Duo returned home.

After locking the door and returning his gun to his backpack, Duo slouched onto the old sofa in his living room. He sat there for a few moments, letting himself relax as much as possible.

Heaving a sigh, Duo rose and made his way back to his bedroom. Grabbing a pair of sweats, he headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Less than half an hour later, Duo was back on the couch, running a brush through his damp hair. Eventually his hair was dry enough to twist into the usual braid.

-

Finally, Duo's first day in this new life came to an end, as he lie in bed, gazing out the window at the night sky, he desperately wished to be back in his Gundam, getting revenge against those who had made his life turn out the way it had.

* * *

**um, so i'll try to update this as soon as possible, but dont expect anything for a while. although, i'm pretty anxious to work on chapter two, so i might work on it a little more than usual. thanks everyone!**


	2. Tuesday: Fight

**wow... i had no clue this chapter was so short! _but_, i think this is the most important chapter... it sets the foundation for a really big event coming later. XD i cant wait! **

**anyways, Dianne find out a little more about our troubled Duo... heh heh...**

**enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Two

Tuesday: Fight

Duo didn't know where he was when he woke up Tuesday morning. It took a moment for him to remember everything through the constant beeping of his alarm.

Whacking said alarm, Duo nearly fell out of bed. He yawned, and began to pull on his clothes for school. Lazily, he made sure his gun was still loaded and where it should be, along with the knife he had put in there last night. Everything checked out.

After downing a cup of coffee, he left his tiny apartment. Locking the door behind him, Duo began to walk towards school. The sanest part of him was not looking forward to his fight with Dugan later, while the rest of his being was desperate for some action.

As Duo was coming to the end of the street, he saw Dianne, just leaving her house. He called her name, getting her attention.

The girl waved, smiling. She walked up to the former pilot, "Good morning!"

"Yo," he grinned.

Dianne couldn't help but ask, "So, are you ready for your second day of school?"

"No," he replied flatly. "But," Duo continued, the anticipation before battle glinting in his violet eyes, "I am looking forward to taking out some frustration on that bully later."

The girl quirked her eyebrow at him, "You're actually looking _forward_ to fighting Dugan?! Is there even any possibility you could win?"

An almost feral smirk crept over Duo's face, his façade slipping, "Oh, I can beat him. There's no way he could be as strong as some of the morons I've fought."

Dianne looked at Duo in shock, not believing the small glance at his past he had just shown her.

-

The school day dragged by painfully slow for Duo. However, it was over before he even knew it. All day, he had heard rumors being passed back and forth of his upcoming fight.

After biology, he and Dianne began walking over towards the abandoned classrooms clear across campus. There was silence between the two.

"I gotta stop at the bathroom," said Duo, breaking the quiet.

Leaving Dianne for a moment, he entered the empty room. Dropping his backpack, he reached inside, withdrawing his gun and knife. Duo hid them in his clothes carefully and then exited the bathroom, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Well?" asked Dianne, quirking an eyebrow like always.

"Nothing," smirked Duo, a mischievous glint in his violet eyes.

It was not long until the pair reached the empty space near the abandoned classrooms. There was already a large bunch of students there, anticipating the fight.

Once Duo pushed past the other students, he found Dugan and his two minions. They were waiting for him, ready to fight.

"So, the _freak_ isn't gonna chicken out after all," mocked Dugan, "But there's no way you're going to beat me; no way at all."

Duo smirked, "I doubt that!" the former pilot glanced back at Dianne, tossing his backpack to the side. In the next second, he shot forward, fists raised.

Dugan barely had any time to block the attack before he was overcome by a series of sharp punches.

"Oh yeah?" well take this!" yelled Dugan as he sent a heavy punch at Duo.

The former pilot dodged with ease, jumping back. His hand twitched, soldier instincts screaming at him to grab his gun and end it… but he knew better.

Duo spun around, delivering a roundhouse kick and knocking Dugan's legs out from under him. The bully tumbled to the ground, cussing loudly.

A moment later, Dugan jumped up, sending two swift punches as the former pilot's stomach. Only the first of the two was blocked.

Duo stumbled back, clutching his stomach. He always was weak to hits there.

Eyes narrowing, the braided teen shot forward, jabbing his elbow into Dugan's chest.

The bully staggered back for a moment. However, before Duo could dodge, Dugan took a step forward, grabbing the other by his collar. He lifted the smaller sophomore up, then slammed him into the ground, holding him there.

Duo gasped, pain radiating through him. The bully laughed.

However, the former pilot was not done yet. He grabbed Dugan's arms, using them as leverage. With that, he kicked both legs up, right into the bully's stomach.

Dugan was forced to let go, eyes widening at the unexpected pain.

Duo leapt to his feet, "And that's why I'm stronger than you. Care to admit defeat?" he asked, violet eyes glittering with the adrenaline high of battle.

Dugan rose to his full height, wiping his mouth, "Never!" With that, he nodded, his eyes looking past Duo.

In the next instant, the former pilot received a very powerful blow to the head. With a startled gasp from the spectators, Duo toppled to the ground, his vision going black for several seconds.

"Duo!" cried Dianne, barely able to keep herself on the sidelines.

The braided teen groaned, slowly rising to his hands and knees. "That's… _so_ not fair…" he grumbled.

Before Duo could get to his feet on his own, however, he was forcefully lifted up by his arms. With a quick glance back, he saw both Lewis and Julian gripping his arms.

"I believe it's time to end this," said Dugan, reaching into his pocket. Duo's violet eyes widened slightly as he pulled out a dangerous-looking pocketknife.

"Now what are you gonna do with that?" asked Duo sarcastically, showing no signs of fear.

With his empty hand, Dugan ran his finger over his throat, as it to slice it open. "My dad's one of the big guys at the military base outside of town, so I wont get in trouble if a few _freaks_ disappear every once in a while," he smirked.

"Well you can wish me away all you want, but I ain't goin' anywhere!" yelled Duo as he broke free of Julian and Lewis's grasp. The former pilot dodged as Dugan swiped at him with the knife, jumping to the side.

However, he was not fast enough.

Duo crouched on one knee for a moment, grasping the bleeding wound. Dugan's knife had sliced a nasty gash into the very end of the braided teen's right shoulder.

Duo's eyes darkened, pure anger radiating from the violet orbs. His hands trembled, wanting to grab his gun. Dugan had taken it too far; and the heartless killer within Duo was dangerously close to breaking free.

The former pilot rose, blood stained hand falling limply to his side.

"Give up?" asked Dugan, a maliciously all-powerful look on his face.

"Why would I do that, when you've already lost?" questioned Duo, his voice as dark as the glint in his eyes.

Dugan was too slow to react as the braided teen shot forward. To the crowd's surprise, Duo leapt into the air, doing a back-flip as he landed a powerful kick at Dugan's chin, nearly shattering his jaw. The former pilot landed perfectly on his feet, just as Dugan crumpled to the ground.

Duo's braid whipped behind him as he spun on his heel. With a quick roundhouse kick, both Lewis and Julian were on the ground.

Duo took in a deep breath, forcing down the adrenaline from fighting. He chose to tune out the cheers from the students watching him.

Heaving another sigh, the former pilot stepped over to Dugan. He knew the bully was still conscious enough to hear him.

The cheers quieted as the braided teen spoke, "Now, Dugan, as winner of this duel, I believe I have the right to take your place at the top of the school monarchy. Also, if I ever hear of you bullying _anyone_ ever again…" He knelt down and whispered, so that only the defeated bully could hear him, "I'll personally put a bullet in your heart."

With that said, Duo spun on his heel, leaving the miniature battlefield. He grabbed his backpack, nodding for Dianne to follow him. His façade was pulled back into place.

-

Before the two left for home, Duo had taken some gauze from his pack, quickly dressing his bloody wound.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Dianne asked, worried.

"Yeah, this is nothing," assured Duo.

-

By the time Duo and Dianne reached the girl's home, he had managed to, more or less; convince her that he was perfectly fine.

"I'm fine, really! I've had _way_ worse, I swear," he had said.

"Fine… but please, be careful, ok?" she was worried for him, because even if he had had worse, which terrified her, Duo was still hurt.

As foolish as it was, she watched him from her house, making sure he got home safely.

For the next half-hour, Dianne couldn't get Duo out of her mind. Just the thought of the beating he had taken in his fight with Dugan made her scared for him.

Dianne wanted to call Duo; however, she didn't know his phone number… or if he even had a phone, for that matter.

Eventually, she settled with going over to his apartment to visit him.

Standing in front of the tiny, but nice, apartment, she knocked on the door. Dianne heard a series of locks coming undone from the other side a few moments later.

When the door finally opened, she gasped, "D-Duo!"

"Hey! You so worried you had to come and see me?" asked the former pilot. To the girl's utter surprise, Duo was dressed in only a pair of grayish sweats, and the cut on his shoulder was freshly bandaged, in a professional looking way.

"Well, come in already!" he said, motioning for Dianne to enter the apartment, "Perfect timing, by the way, I just got out of the shower a few minutes ago."

She also took note that his hair was down, instead of in its usual braid, and it was still wet, at that. He even had a hair brush in his hand. She also couldn't help but notice the faint smell of strawberry shampoo.

"Ha, ha, well I had to make sure you were okay. Its not every day that you go and get yourself beat up," she said, hands on her hips.

Duo secretly laughed, since he pretty much _did_ go and get beat up every day… at least when he was still a Gundam pilot. "Well, thank you… I guess."

It was then, that Dianne noticed the countless scars that littered Duo's chest and shoulders. She gasped, hands flying to her mouth, "Oh my god… Duo! How did—?"

Smile fading, to former pilot led her over to the sofa. He looked at her, violet eyes dark with the memories of a troubled past, "I ought to tell you where I got these, eh?"

Dianne only nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

He sighed. Duo still couldn't tell her everything, since he _was_ in hiding, but he could give her a rough explanation. "Well… you know about the war with the colonies, right?"

She nodded again.

"I had been fighting in that war since the very beginning… and I would usually end up in losing battles, too. So it kinda always ended badly." He paused for a moment, chuckling darkly, "I even got caught in a huge explosion once… they didn't find me until it was almost too late…" *

(* Reference to another of my GW fics, it's not finished yet. But Deathscythe gets blown up with Duo still inside. He ends up in the hospital, and almost dies.)

Dianne was at loss for words. Duo had almost _died_… and she was sure that wasn't the only time.

"Shinigami desu…" whispered Duo, almost inaudibly. **

There was a strange look in his eyes, as if he had seen something so terrifying… so horrible… and he was the cause.

(** Literally means "I'm Shinigami")

"Huh? Shini-what?" asked Dianne, looking up at the former pilot.

Duo's violet eyes met hers. He smiled, "Shinigami. You could say that was my codename."

"So…" it was then that another matter came to Dianne's mind.

"Yeh?"

"Earlier, you said that you were gonna take over the school in Dugan's place… like, what are you gonna do with that power?"

Duo leaned back against the sofa, finally relaxing. He crossed his arms, "Well… I honestly didn't plan ahead that far… guess I never really acknowledged the fact that I'd take his place, even though it was my idea." He laughed, "_But_, I'm probably just going to leave things the way they already are… except make sure no one gets bullied anymore, of course."

Dianne nodded, "Yeah, that sounds pretty good. As long as there's no more bullying, the social classes should disappear on their own after a while."

"Well," Dianne stood, "I better get going… it's getting late, and I still have homework to do."

Duo rose as well, following her to the door, "Alright. Thanks for coming." He smiled.

-

After Dianne left, Duo closed the door, sighing heavily, "Jeez… I hate keeping secrets like that. Maybe I should just tell her the truth… that I am a Gundam pilot…"

-

Once Dianne got home, she instantly went to her computer. What Duo had called himself… _Shinigami_… she wanted to know what that meant.

When the girl found the translation, she gasped, not expecting, or believing, what she saw.

"Shinigami: God of Death"

Did that mean… that Duo was a killer…?! The girl refused to believe it, but after seeing him fight, and that terrible look in his eyes, she knew it was true.

Dianne had figured out what he was keeping from her… or so she thought.

* * *

**annnnddd until next time! i've got ch3 planned out for the most part, and it's probably not going to be very long too.... but, we'll see!**

**jaa ne :D **


	3. Wednesday: Getting Into Trouble

**sorry it took so long to upload this! haha i've been too bust reading all the GW manga i bought to write much...**

**haha anyways, this is a _very_ important chapter! VERY VERY!! haha you'll see why...**

**anyways... i dont own the band Disturbed XD heh heh**

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Chapter Three

Wednesday: Getting Into Trouble

This time, Duo actually _did_ fall out of bed when his alarm went off. As he reached to shut off the obnoxious alarm, pain twinged in his hurt shoulder. So much for forgetting that it was there…

Duo then proceeded with the same routine as the past few days. Clothes, weapons, coffee, school; even though he'd much rather leave out the last bit

He met up with Dianne again, and was thankful that she didn't say anything about their conversation yesterday. However, she had a strange, almost wary look in her eyes, but she didn't act on it.

"Duo," said Dianne in a serious tone. The former pilot did his best not to tense up, hoping that she didn't start talking about yesterday.

He relaxed, however, when she spoke again, "Are you alright? You look like you had a rough morning or something… did you fall out of bed?"

Duo laughed, his mood lifting, "How did you know?! My alarm scared the crap outta me!" As much of a fearless soldier he was, he could never get used to something as simple as an alarm clock; it must have something to do with living on the streets, constantly in danger for so long.

Dianne laughed as well, "Guess I'm psychic then!"

-

In first period, English, Duo was plagued by stares as soon as he entered the classroom. It was hard, but he managed to ignore them as both he and Dianne sat at their desks.

Duo couldn't help but listen to the whispered conversations around him.

"Did you see the fight yesterday?! He practically killed Dugan!"

"Oh, I know! And that look in his eyes… he's scary!"

Finally, the bell rang, starting class. Ms. Evans rose from her desk, "Good morning class. Please take out a piece of paper and something to write with." She went to her desk, grabbing a stack of papers, and began to hand them out to the class, "Today we'll be practicing with analytical paragraphs. The template is on the SmartBoard for anyone who needs it," she paused. "Please read the article, and write an eleven-sentence analytical paragraph proving the statement at the bottom."

Sighing, Duo quickly scanned the article, his trained eyes automatically picking up all he needed to know. With that, he read the statement of what he had to prove, and scanned the template. Easy.

He began writing, having no problem finding quotes to prove his point.

After a few moments, Duo winced, pain spasming in his shoulder. He hadn't expected for the wound to give him so much trouble. Choosing to ignore the hurt, he continued to work, but the constant moving of his arm only made the pain increase.

Acting as indiscrete as possible, he gripped his aching shoulder. He couldn't help but wonder if the wound had reopened.

Dianne, who sat diagonally behind him, to the right, got his attention. "Hey! Duo!" she whispered, "You okay?"

The former pilot turned to face her, forcing a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry." However, the pain in his shoulder was nothing he could ignore. It ached terrible as he finished his writing assignment.

Ms. Evans, who was walking around the room, couldn't help but notice Duo's discomfort. She didn't know why his shoulder was hurting him, but she knew it had to be bad. However, she decided not to bother him about it; she didn't want to be nosy.

-

As Duo and Dianne walked through the halls towards the gym, Dianne questioned him about his wounded shoulder.

"Duo, are you sure you're okay? It sure doesn't seem like it."

The former pilot smiled, "Really, I'm fine. I've dealt with stuff like this before. I'm not gonna die from something so small."

"Fine," she sighed, "but I'm still worried."

-

"Everyone, out to the track!" called Mr. Carter, followed by a blow of his whistle.

As the large PE class reached the track surrounding the football field, Mr. Carter called out more instructions.

"Six laps today! And don't forget to give me your roll-call number when you run by! Aaannnddd go!"

With that, everyone in the class began running. Duo, who was definitely a fast runner, decided to slow down to Dianne's pace.

As they were running, the former pilot scanned the track. "Looks like out noble Dugan isn't at school today," he said with a smirk.

Dianne smiled as well, "Heh, heh, I bet his pride got beat so bad he couldn't stand to show his ugly face."

It wasn't long until the pair was done running, and was sitting on the grass at the edge of the football field.

The girl crawled over to him, pulling up the sleeve of his PE shirt and revealing the white bandages. Right where Duo's shoulder became his arm, the gauze was flecked with red, the wound having bled slightly.

With that, Dianne sat back down, not saying a word.

"What?" asked Duo.

She crossed her arms, "Just checking."

"Ok then…"

Duo gave her a funny look, but he understood her worries. Hilde had been the same way at first. Hell, if it was serious, even Heero worried about him.

-

When the former pilot walked into his history class, all alone, the room became full of whispers.

Ignoring the voices and stares, Duo went and sat at his desk. He took out his pencil and acted as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

That was, until the girl sitting next to him tapped him on the shoulder. "Umm… Thank you for what you did yesterday… everyone is really grateful that you got rid of Dugan," she said nervously, as if she was afraid of Duo. And she probably was.

The former pilot smiled, "You're welcome."

-

Math was dull, but Duo was glad that people weren't gossiping _too_ much. However, his shoulder decided to start hurting again.

As Duo watched Mrs. Fisher teach the class, and actually _look_ like he was paying attention, his shoulder throbbed painfully.

It was finally towards the very end of class that the ache dulled. When the bell rang, Duo gladly rushed out the door.

The former pilot met up with Dianne for lunch, quickly devouring his piece of pizza. And then, with Dianne at his side, Duo made his way to the 'royalty' table.

Every one of the 'rulers' were there, minus Dugan, that is.

"What do _you_ want?" spat April Brooks as she noticed the two.

"Oh, didn't you hear?" smirked Duo, "You guys don't have power over the school anymore. I do."

"As if!" growled Kimberly Brown. "Lewis, put that _freak_ in his place!"

Lewis did not move. Both he and Julian had gotten a taste of what Duo could do, and they did not want more. The look that had been in the braided teens eyes during the fight was terrifying.

"See what I mean?" asked Duo, smirk becoming a mischievous grin.

"What do you want?" repeated April, with a little less attitude.

"One thing," Duo held up a finger, "swear to me that you, all of you, will never bully _anyone_ ever again. That means no more beating people up or bossing them around; and no talking crap. Got it?"

"And what happens if we don't do what you say?" questioned Ashlee Conrad.

"You did see what happened to Dugan, did you not?" asked Duo, tone serious.

"Yeah, but men can't hit girls, so we don't have to listen to you!"

Duo chuckled, "That rule doesn't apply anymore. However, I will avoid a fight with _anyone_ if possible."

"_And_," said Dianne, taking a step forward and making her presence known, "Just because he can't hit you, doesn't mean I cant'!" the girl cracked her knuckles, doing her very best to seem as menacing as Duo.

"Well, if you wanna fight, then bring it on!" screeched Kimberly, taking a step forward.

Lewis grabbed her arm, "Don't. He means what he said."

April, however, ignored Lewis. She walked up to Duo, staring him in the face. "Well I don't care what you say. I'm not giving up my popularity to some _freak_ like you!"

Before Duo could speak, Dianne stepped in between the two, her face mere inches from April's, "Give it up. Duo won that fight fair and square, so you have no right to be mean to him. Or me."

April just growled.

Duo sighed, taking a step to the side to face the popular girl. "Look," he said, "I'm not taking away your status; I just don't want you guys to be mean to anyone anymore. Got that?"

"We get it," said Julian, grabbing April's arm and pulling her back.

Lewis nodded, "We understand what you're saying, don't worry."

April Brooks continued to glare at Duo, but the expression in her eyes told him that she would do as he said. What the former pilot had done to her Dugan was enough to get her to listen.

"Good. Well, goodbye then!" said Duo, turning on his heel and leaving, pulling Dianne with him.

The two didn't say a word as they returned to their table, picking up their backpacks. Even through the bell hadn't rung yet, they both knew it would very soon.

-

Not much later, Duo found himself in his TA class, bored out of his mind.

As he leaned against the wall of the gym, the former pilot absently fidgeted with the golden cross around his neck. He thought about his plans for OZ, deciding that tonight would be best.

Duo had infiltrated OZ bases so many times in the past, that he doubted that he needed any real preparation. All he'd have to do was study the map of the place, cook up a few bombs, then head out there in the dead of night; that way most people would be asleep. It would be easy, like hacking Heero's computer.

His shoulder throbbed irritably.

-

Next thing he knew, Duo was sitting next to Dianne in biology. Today they had some bookwork to do, copying vocabulary and answering the Section Assessment questions. He was finished within twenty minutes.

The former pilot returned his book to the shelf and turned in his work, returning to Dianne's side. As he sat on the too-tall stool, Duo leaned over the table again, like he had for the past few days, and buried his head in his arms.

The braided teen began mentally going through the process of preparing a bomb; setting up the explosives, wiring it, and so on. He'd have to visit Deathscythe for a bit and get some supplies, considering he kept everything he would need in his Gundam.

Duo had hidden his precious Deathscythe not too far from town; however it was nowhere near the OZ base. In fact, he had found an abandoned factory building out on some old back roads, perfect for storing his giant weapon of mass destruction.

He opened his eyes to Dianne shaking his arm; he apparently fell asleep in class.

"…Eh?" he asked, not realizing he had nodded off.

Dianne smiled, "Welcome back to the world of the living. You fell asleep after you finished your work. Good thing nobody noticed, or cared if they did."

He sat up, running a hand through his unruly bangs, "Oh, heh, guess I stayed up too late last night."

The bell rang.

Duo and Dianne left the school, heading home. When they both reached the girl's house, she stopped him.

"Duo, make sure you take care of your shoulder, okay? I'm still worried, and I'm not gonna stop until it's completely healed."

He smiled reassuringly, "Alright, if you insist. And you know I'll take care of myself, I can't die yet." _Not with the war still going on,_ he added silently.

Duo turned and began walking down the street, waving over his shoulder.

-

When the braided teen reached his apartment, he quickly dropped off his backpack. He placed his gun in a holster under his shirt, like always, and his knife in a hidden pocket in his boot. He also took a large duffle bag, to carry his laptop and, when the time came, everything he needed to take with him to the OZ base.

With that, he exited to the apartment complex's parking lot. Keys in hand, he walked to the lone motorcycle. Duo smirked, knowing that he didn't even have a license, yet he drove whenever he needed to.

Starting up the bike, the former pilot sped down the road, careful to go the other way, so that there was no possibility of being caught by Dianne. As much as he didn't want to, Duo kept to the speed limit, taking the long back roads to where his Gundam was safely hidden.

Finally, he reached the large, abandoned factory. He parked his motorcycle and unlocked the complex bolt on the door to the biggest building. When he got the door open, Duo smiled, glad to spend some time with Deathscythe.

Locking the door behind him, Duo opened up his Gundam and turned on the stereo inside; something he had installed himself. He smirked as "Indestructible" by _Disturbed_ came on; turning up the volume, he got to work.

-

"_Indestructible,_

_Determination that is incorruptible, _

_From the other side, a terror to behold,_

_Annihilation will be unavoidable…"_

-

In only a matter of hours, the bombs were finished. Duo had also come up with a flawless plan; he would sneak in, disable the security system, then sneak around and set the bombs. Then he's slip out and hit the demolition button. There was no way he'd get caught.

Now all he had to do was wait until the time was right, and he could begin the mission. Duo checked his watch, almost six o'clock; he'd have to wait for at least another five hours. The former pilot figured the best way to pass the time was to sleep it away.

And so, he set his cell phone to wake him up later, and climbed into Deathscythe's cockpit, just like old times. Sleep took him in minutes.

-

Duo didn't dream while he napped, instead several memories plagued his mind.

_Being caught by OZ and being locked up for who knows how long._

_Doctor G telling him that he, and the other pilots, were all being sent into hiding._

_Starting his new life here._

_Fighting Dugan and Dianne seeing all his scars._

Duo woke up with a start, his phone ringing in his pocket. He quickly fumbled to silence the darn thing, and climbed out of his Gundam. Leaping to the ground, he stretched and yawned.

It was time to blow OZ to hell.

-

Duo snuck into the OZ base without a sound, crawling through an air vent in the ceiling. He had found a perfect ventilation shaft outside of the building; better yet, it wasn't even in the view of the security camera. Can you say _irony?_

Coming to a grate in the shaft, Duo stopped to peer through and get his bearings. It looked like he was over the barracks on the eastern end of the building. Perfect; he was getting close to the security room.

After a few more minutes of crawling in the dark, the former pilot came to the room he was looking for. He looked down, making sure the coast was clear, which it was. However, Duo was sure there would be a guard posted at the door _outside_ the room.

The braided teen pulled up the grate of the vent and jumped to the ground.

Duo smiled, he was in.

Walking up to the large control panel, he found many screens displaying various sites of the OZ complex. Only a few of them had people guarding them; one of which, he found, was the door to the security room he was in right now.

Looking at all the controls, Duo hacked into the system and shut down all the cameras and alarm systems. Little did he know, however, that there had been a security cam right above his head. And he also didn't know that all the video taken was saved to an online database; OZ had learned to not record onto analog tapes the hard way.

Duo had virtually gotten himself caught before he even started.

-

The former pilot crept through the OZ base, sneaking past the occasionally guard, and having an overall great time.

'_Man, I missed this! Heh, heh too bad Heero's not here; blowin' up stuff with a friend always makes it twice as fun.'_

Duo placed another bomb on the wall, activating it, so that it would detonate when he triggered the device. He then continued on, making a round-trip on the ground floor of the complex.

After setting the last bomb, the braided teen climbed up into the air vents again and made his escape. No _man_ saw him.

Once Duo was a safe distance from the OZ base, he grinned a feral grin and pushed the detonation button.

At first there was only one small explosion, but then, in a seemingly domino effect, all the other bombs went off around the building. In only seconds, the black, clouded sky blazed with crimson and gold flames.

Quoting Heero, Duo chuckled, "Mission complete."

It was finally time to head home, but he wasn't sure that he'd be able to sleep with the adrenaline rush buzzing through him. Damn it was fun blowing stuff to a million pieces.

-

Little did Duo know, however, that several soldiers of that OZ base had not even been there during the explosion. One of these men was a high ranking soldier, Colonel Berry, Dugan's father.

And as soon as this man found out about the destruction of the base, and learned of _who_ did it, he would, without a doubt, order that man's arrest. He would also become twice as enraged to find that the man who did it wasn't exactly a man, but a teenager, who just so happened to be the boy who put his son in the hospital.

Duo was in for it big time.

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**haha major foreshadowing, eh? and i'll have you know, there's only two more chapters left and an epilogue, sooo... yeh!**

**Please Review! and thanks for reading!**


	4. Thursday: Nightmares

**sorry this took so long!!! i wouldve uploaded it yesterday, but the site was bein a butt.... haha anyways: this is the second-to-last chapter! i cant believe it! all that's left is ch 5 and the epilogue... GAH!**

**anyways, this chapter is pretty much filler until the last bit... heh heh i'm really lookin foward to the last chapter :) neways, enjoy!**

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Chapter Four

Thursday: Nightmares

When Duo woke up Thursday morning, it was pouring outside. Rain pelted the window over his bed, as if threatening to shatter the glass. Walking to school was going to be hell.

As he climbed out of bed, Duo stretched; his shoulder felt better today.

Duo got dressed and downed a cup of coffee. Pulling on a plain black hoodie, the former pilot grabbed his backpack and left for school. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't ride his motorcycle; not only because it was raining and he'd just get soaked anyway, but he didn't have a license. Damn he hated laws.

Duo met up with Dianne, as usual, and made it to school just in time. She couldn't help but notice his extremely good mood; if only she knew what he had been doing last night.

-

As they entered the English classroom, everyone was chattering about how the OZ base had been destroyed last night; word spread _very_ fast. No doubt Dugan had something to do with it; especially since most students didn't even know of the base to begin with.

Even Ms. Evans had heard about it, "Ok class, calm down. I doubt the school is in trouble if a _military_ base got destroyed, alright?"

There was a mumble of agreement as the students quieted down. Duo smirked inwardly; they had no _clue_.

-

Duo and Dianne walked down the hall to PE.

"Did you see that explosion last night?! It woke me up! I wonder who did it…?" said the girl.

Duo had to act innocent, something he was very good at, "Seriously! I bet it was some crazy rebel from the colonies."

"What if it was one of the Gundam pilots?! I heard about them on the news a few months ago… I think 02 was the scariest…"

Duo almost burst out laughing; instead, he managed to stifle it into something believable, "Really? I think 01 is the worst."

"Huh… well that one is pretty scary too… they all are." She shuddered, "I can't imagine what type of people pilot those things… they must be all serial killers or something."

"Ha, ha well you never know." Duo knew. The Gundam pilots were his best friends; hell, they were some of the nicest people he ever met. Especially Quatre, it was amazing that kid even had the heart to kill at all. But Heero on the other hand….

-

When Duo sat in history, the same girl who had unknowingly given him the tip about the OZ base was almost in a panic.

"It got blown up! It… it's gone! And so close to home too!"

Her friends tried to calm her down, "Hey, its okay. We didn't get hit, and why would they attack a school?"

"But…!"

This was the part that Duo hated. The terror. It didn't bother him at all to slaughter thousands of people, but when it came to the fear brought on by such attacks… He would hate himself for what he'd done, even though he knew violence was the only way to peace. It was justified, as Wufei would say.

Duo clutched his chest, bending over onto his desk. Guilt was one emotion he couldn't handle. With some difficulty, he was able to shove it back down again and slip back into his façade.

-

At lunch, Duo sat with Dianne; he joked with her and did his best to sound carefree. But there was something missing; she could still see that hollow look in his eyes. And it bothered her.

"Duo, are you alright? You don't really seem… normal today."

He wasn't alright, guilt was eating away at him, even though he knew what he did was absolutely necessary. _Anything to stop OZ _is what Doctor G. had told him.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Didn't I tell you yesterday?" he laughed, trying to sound convincing.

She eyed him suspiciously; his lie was believable, and so was his smile, but he just didn't seem _right_. It was like when they first met, his actions seemed almost guarded, as if he was hiding something. She decided it was best not to bother him about it; he would've told her if he could… like on Tuesday.

-

Duo was better in biology; Dianne could tell that his smile wasn't as forced as it was before. However, he still didn't seem to be quite back to himself.

The former pilot was doing his best to get his façade back into place, but it was just too hard. All his negative emotions from the past week seemed to gang up on him at once, and he wanted nothing more to go back to when it was just him and the other pilots.

Before Duo knew it, class was over and he was walking home with Dianne. He looked up at the clouded sky, sighing.

"I hate to ask again, but is there something wrong? Please tell me," she looked at him for a moment, before looking down at the sidewalk.

He didn't speak for a moment, but then a sad smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, "I guess you could say," he started, looking at Dianne, "I'm just a little homesick."

-

Meanwhile, in a conference room of City Hall, which had been converted into an OZ conference room, sat Colonel Berry and several other high ranking soldiers. Soldiers who had survived the destruction of the base last night. Among them, there was a scientist.

"Thanks to our new way of recording security footage," started said scientist, "I was able to find the intruder."

"Get to the point already, Roberts!" ordered Colonel Berry in an angry tone. He had to find out who caused this mess, and put him to justice.

"Just a moment, sir," nodded the scientist named Roberts. The man quickly began to fumble with a laptop and projector, trying to get the footage to play for everyone to see. "Alright, as you can see, this is the security room last night." He hit Play.

A man with a long braid leapt down from the ceiling. He turned around a few times, as if surveying the room. This, however, gave the camera an almost perfect view of his face.

"I ran a few tests," continued the scientist, "And I have determined this man's identity." He brought up a clear picture of the intruder on the screen, "His name is Duo Maxwell, a sophomore at the local high school. And—"

"Hold it!" interrupted Colonel Berry. "Did you say _Duo Maxwell?!"_

Roberts nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Dammit! That's the bastard who put my son in the hospital!" the rage was clear in Berry's eyes. "I want that brat caught; alive. Surround the school if you have to, I just want him in cuffs in front of me by 1800 hours tomorrow!"

-

Late that afternoon, Duo found himself with nothing to do. He sat on the sofa in his tiny living room, staring at nothing. He had even done his homework, but that only took up a few hours of time.

Duo sighed heavily, he needed to push down his grief and anger and just get on with life, like he always did.

He reached into his shirt from his collar, pulling up his golden cross. The former pilot then undid the clasp and held it out in front of him, grasping the crucifix tightly in both hands. He closed his violet eyes.

After several minutes of sitting like that, Duo heaved a loud sigh and sat up. He replaced the cross around his neck and stood, stretching.

He walked into the kitchen, leaning over the sink to look out the window; it was pouring again.

Duo turned around, leaning on the counter. He thought for a moment before going to grab his jacket.

Pulling up his hood, the former pilot stepped out onto the rain darkened street. He just walked, breathing in the fresh air of the rain. Earth's weather always amazed him, always made some part of him feel at peace.

Duo continued to walk, not really knowing where he was going. However, he soon came to a stop. He looked up at the house in front of him and smirked slightly. The former pilot went to knock on the door.

"Hello?" Dianne opened the door, confused as to why someone would have come to her house, in the rain nonetheless.

"Hey," Duo smiled kind of awkwardly.

"Duo! What are you doing here?! Hurry, get inside, so you don't get even more soaked!" she laughed pulling him into the warm house.

He shivered, taking off his wet jacket. He chuckled a little, "I hope it's okay that I came here…"

Dianne put her hands on her hips, "Oh its fine, but what in the world made you want to come here through the rain?!"

Duo laughed sheepishly, "Well I was bored, and there was nothing to do… so I came to see you."

She smiled, "Ha, ha I was bored too. I'm glad you came."

He grinned as well.

Dianne was glad; Duo seemed to be back to normal now. Even though she barely knew him, she felt so bound to him, like they had been friends forever. And she was sure he felt the same.

"So… wanna watch TV? I don't really have much, but there's a TV at least," she asked, pulling him into the living room.

"Okay, sure," said Duo as he took a seat next to her on the sofa.

Dianne turned on the TV and began scrolling through the channels.

"Whoa! Go back!" exclaimed the former pilot, something catching his attention.

"What? The news?" she asked, sounding disgusted. Dianne hated politics and war, and that was all they really talked about on the news.

"…_So far there have been three of these instances this week. Authorities are blaming the Gundam Pilots, but nothing has yet been confirmed," _said the reporter. The map on the screen showed a red dot on Duo's approximate location, one somewhere in China, and another in Japan. The headline was 'OZ Military Bases Destroyed.'

Duo wasn't the only one with the idea to blow OZ to hell.

"Ugh, I hate war. Why do those pilots have to keep killing people?" sighed Dianne.

"I think OZ deserves it," said Duo without really thinking. What he was more focused on was the fact that the other pilots had given out a sign to each other, a sign to not give up on the fight. Just because they were in hiding didn't mean the end of the world. Duo wanted to send all the other Gundam Pilots a message telling them he was so glad to 'hear from them,' but conversing with the others had been strictly forbidden; except for emergencies, such as being attacked and needing backup.

"Heh, you can change it now if you want," said Duo. He was in an even better mood now, and he had the other pilots to thank.

"You sure? They're still talking about the war and stuff," asked Dianne, holding up the remote, ready to change the channel.

"Its ok, that's all I needed to see," he smiled.

And so, the pair ended up watching movies and such for the rest of the night. It was finally when the second movie had ended, did Duo say he should head home.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow Dianne. That was really fun, thanks," he grinned at her as he pulled on his semi-dry jacket.

"You're welcome. And thank you for coming over," she opened the door for him. "Are you sure you'll be okay walking in the dark and the rain?" Dianne asked, wondering if she maybe had a flashlight and umbrella she could lend him.

He grinned, "Nah, I'll be fine. Like I've been saying, you don't need to worry about me. And I'm sure you know I can protect myself." Duo gave her a mock salute before turning and heading out into the dark and the wet, "See ya!"

As the former pilot sauntered down the rainy street, he came to a stop just outside the glow of the one streetlight. He could've sworn he heard something in the darkness. Looking around, soldier within on high alert, Duo determined that it was simply his imagination. He continued to walk.

The same incident occurred three more times on his way home. He'd always see something pitch dark dancing across the very edge of his vision. Duo would then turn to see nothing there. Either he was starting to lose it, or he was just more tired than he thought. And he really hoped it was simply the latter.

When Duo entered his apartment, he didn't hesitate to turn on every light. He knew it was foolish, but the former pilot felt almost consumed by some strange sense of foreboding.

Duo stood still in the middle of his living room and yawned. He needed to go to bed, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep. However, his body's need for rest was simply too strong. The former pilot gave in and turned off all the lights; and within twenty minutes he was lying in bed.

It took him a bit longer than usual to fall asleep, even though he was so worn out. Even then, as he became dead to the world, his sense of danger stayed with him. It even went as far as to haunt his dreams.

-

_Duo _knew_ it was just a shadow, and he _knew _that his eyes were just playing tricks on him. But that didn't change the fact that what he was _seeing_ was something unnatural. Hid mind told him that it was the spirits of everyone he'd killed come back to haunt him. _

_The former pilot scooted back on the bed till he was sitting against the wall. His mind was still too groggy to find a way of escape. He watched in horror as the shadow began to move towards him. _

_Duo tried to shut his eyes and look away, but he found that he could not. He was frozen in fear. _

_The shadow continued to slowly float toward him, black mist just barely grazing the floor. _

_Suddenly, an idea came to Duo. The former pilot grabbed his pillow and threw it at the shadow with all his might. It went right through, landing on the floor several feet away. _

_The monster was right in front of him now._

"_N-No… get away!" _

_Duo was finally able to turn his head and look away, but it didn't change the fact that the shadow was still there, looming in front of him._

_The former pilot let out a terrified shriek as a bony, icy cold hand wrapped around his throat. This must be his end._

-

Duo bolted upright in bed, letting out a small cry of fear. He looked around his room with wide eyes; it was the same as it had been when he went to bed.

He sighed in relief; it had just been a nightmare. But even then, that feeling of fear was still there, clutching at his throat, at his chest.

It was still pouring outside, but Duo could see nothing through his window, it was simply too dark.

He then turned to his clock, wondering how much sleep he had gotten.

Just then, lightening flashed outside his window, filling his room with the chilling white light for the shortest of moments. As his vision cleared, Duo's eyes fell on the glowing red numbers of his alarm clock. The time read 12:00.

Thunder boomed overhead.

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**please review! **

**so, until new time, my faithful readers! :D**


	5. Friday: Goodbye

**Oh. my. god! final chapter! i can't believe it ends this way! ...well i can but its still awesome XD **

**so yes, this is the last chapter. there IS an epilogue, and i'm going to work on that tomorrow morning... so it should be up soon. heh heh this fic is 62 pages... the longest thing i've ever written XD **

**anyways, i'm off to bed... i'm sure you guys will be shocked at how it all turns out :D **

**thanks so much for all your support! **

* * *

Chapter Five

Friday: Goodbye

Duo awoke with a sense of danger Friday morning. He had no clue why, but the soldier in him was screaming something about 'impending doom.'

The former pilot took extra care as he readied for school that morning. Instead of hiding his weapons in his backpack, he hid them in his clothes. He was so _scared_ but he didn't know why.

Already, the dream from last night had faded from his mind. But he couldn't shake that terrified feeling, that feeling of being helpless against something that wanted him dead.

It was no longer raining when Duo stepped out onto the sidewalk, but the streets were still wet and full of puddles.

The former pilot nearly jumped when Dianne called his name when he reached her house, but he managed to hide it.

"Hey, good morning!" he called. Even though he was on high alert for danger, he managed to mask it and act carefree like normal.

"Good morning to you to," she grinned. "Ha, ha last night sure was fun. We should do that again sometime!"

"Yeah, we should," smiled Duo.

"Ahh, so glad it's Friday," sighed Dianne, looking up at the clouded sky.

-

Duo and Dianne sat in English like usual as Ms. Evans lectured on about the use of commas and semicolons. It was quite a pointless lesson, really.

However, Duo's soldier instinct kept twitching inside him. He could hide it for the most part, but he'd jump at the smallest thing. His attention spiked when he heard heavy footsteps out in the hall. _Oh no…_

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the classroom door, hindering Ms Evans' lecture. The heavy door opened to reveal three men dressed in OZ uniforms, each with a standard rifle on a strap over his shoulder.

"What do you want? This is no place for the military, so please leave," ordered the teacher, pointing to the still-open door.

"This is OZ business, ma'am. Do not interfere," said one of the two men in the back.

The soldiers, one in front, two behind, walked to Duo's desk. The former pilot was glaring daggers at the men, barely able to restrain himself from killing them on the spot.

"Duo Maxwell," said the soldier in the front, pulling a paper from within his jacket.

The other students, who had all remained silent in surprise and fear, gasped as one. They had not expected these strange soldiers to even _know _who Duo was. What did they want with him?

"Duo Maxwell," the soldier repeated, "You are ordered to come with us. We have reason to suspect _you_ of destroying the OZ base near this town two nights ago. You will be taken in for questioning." The man nodded to the ones behind him, who instantly went to grab Duo.

However, the former pilot slipped out of their grasp before they could even lay a hand on him. Duo resisted the urge to pull a gun on the men, or even his knife, since it would only cause chaos among the students. Instead, he would have to fight by hand and hope he didn't get shot. If the soldiers began to shoot at him, however, he would have no choice but to draw his gun.

"Halt!" ordered one of the soldiers, rushing towards the former pilot, trying to grab him.

However, Duo simply ducked underneath the man's grasp, kicking his knees out form under him as he did so. The soldier toppled to the ground.

The two remaining men rushed forward, sending heavy punches at the braided teen, giving their comrade time to recover.

The first soldier rose, quickly sending a punch to Duo's jaw.

The former pilot stumbled back, knocking into a desk. The girl sitting there let out a cry of fear as Duo leaned there for a moment, recovering from the sharp blow.

This, however, gave the soldiers a chance to attack. Thankfully, the former pilot made it out of the way in time. He sent several swift punches at the first man, managing to knock him out cold.

This simply enraged the other soldiers more. One let out a growl of rage and sent his fists at Duo. None of the attacks made contact as the braided teen continued to dodge.

Duo smirked when he saw an opening, jabbing the soldier in the side with his elbow. The soldier staggered back in pain, unable to defend himself against the former pilot's next attack. He fell to the ground.

Finally, there was one soldier left. Duo raced forward and slammed into the man, forcing him back.

The soldier crashed into a desk like Duo had, only much harder. He let out a noise of pain before Duo sent a strong punch to his jaw, just like the way Dugan had fallen.

The soldier sank to the floor.

The short battle was over. Not a single student had moved; they were all too stunned.

Duo's eyes met with the shocked blue orbs of Dianne before he turned and ran to the door. His cover was blown, he had to leave.

However, before he got out the door, one of the three soldiers, he didn't know which, managed to become aware enough to raise his gun. Duo ignored the sharp, white hot pain of a bullet blasting through his arm as he sped out of the classroom. He had to hide; fast.

Not looking back, the former pilot ran to the mouth of the hall. He was sure they had the school surrounded; and by a peek around the corner through the door of the front of the school, his suspicions were confirmed.

There weren't many hiding places on campus that Duo could get to without being caught, except…

The former pilot looked across the main hallway. Sure enough, in the office wing across from him, there was the staircase to the Tower Room. Duo had been up there on his recon of the school, and there was a closet at the top of the stairs. Perfect hiding spot.

Glancing quickly to make sure he could cross the main hallway without being seen, Duo raced across. He spun on his heel once he was in the next hall and rocketed up the staircase.

Just as the former pilot reached the top, he heard the soldiers from before exit the classroom. They were making a heck of a racket.

Duo quickly looked at the two doors; trying to remember which was the closet. He pulled open the door directly in front of him, glad that it wasn't locked, and slipped inside. He was very thankful that it was empty, save for an old broom and a dustpan.

He closed the door tightly behind him, painting the room in complete darkness. Feeling around, Duo sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. It was then that he noticed the bullet wound in his right arm.

Stifling a hiss of pain, the former pilot tore a piece of his shirt to make a makeshift bandage. Using his teeth as an extra hand, Duo bound his wounded arm with the cloth. Finally, he sighed inaudibly and got comfortable; he knew he'd be hiding here for quite a while.

-

The three soldiers quickly clamored to their feet, completely ignoring the now panicking students in the classroom.

"Stop right there!" ordered Ms. Evans in an almost motherly tone. She had her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face. She was determined to find out why they were accusing that _student_ of such acts.

"Ma'am, this is no time for dawdling, we must catch that brat before he gets away!" said the first soldier, grabbing his gun and walking to the doorway.

"I said stop right there!" repeated the teacher. "This is a _school_, a safe haven for children! What gives you the right to chase that boy?! What could a mere teenager have done to deserve terror like that?"

The panicking students were beginning to calm down, listening intently to their teacher order the three soldiers around.

"Tell me," continued Ms. Evans, not giving the men a chance to speak. "Why do you think it was _him_ that blew up your base? Do you have any proof?"

The first soldier spoke, "It's none of your business ma'am, but we have security footage of him breaking into our base. Solid proof. Now, if you'd excuse us."

The three soldiers left the room without another word, leaving the teacher and her students.

"I knew it!" cried a girl in the corner, "He was a rebel spy after all!"

Instantly, chatter filled the room. The only student not talking was Dianne. She was incredibly worried for Duo. She couldn't believe that he had done what they said he had, but that same feeling from the past few days returned to her. Somehow, she knew he had indeed done it; she could just tell that he wasn't as innocent as he acted. She was beginning to see through his façade.

Despite knowing that he was guilty, Dianne was still Duo's friend, and she had to help him. She decided that, as soon as school was over and the commotion died down, that she would go looking for him. Logic told her that he was still on campus, hiding somewhere unseen.

"Everybody, quiet!" ordered Ms. Evans, silencing the class with her strict authority.

"Listen, I honestly don't believe that Duo did what those soldiers said; but, there is nothing we can do. It's completely under military jurisdiction, I'm afraid. All we can do now is go on with our classes and spread the word of what happened, alright?"

All of the class agreed, even the girl who declared Duo a spy.

-

As soon as the three soldiers exited the classroom, they quickly marched to the front of the school. They had been ordered to report to Colonel Berry with, or without, Duo. If they hadn't captured him, that meant that their superior would initiate a school-wide search. The man was almost desperate to find that boy.

"What?! He got away?!" roared Colonel Berry.

"Y-yes sir… we underestimated his fighting ability and—"

"Enough! I want that runt captured, alive. I don't care how you do it; just bring me that punk with at least one breath of life still in him! And don't harm this school at all costs, god Dammit!" the colonel turned to glare up at the school's tower room as his soldiers scurried off.

And so, as the school day carried on, Berry's soldiers searched the school high and low. The students had been ordered to act as if the OZ men were simply not there and go on with their day, but that was basically impossible. Even worse, the students knew what, or _who_, they were after. However, they were not willing to help the armed men, instead siding with one of their own.

By the end of the day, the soldiers had searched nearly the entire campus. Even out by the abandoned classrooms, though they though it impossible for Duo to get that far without being caught.

The men, however, hadn't searched the tower room, since the door to it was locked. This assured them that the former pilot hadn't been able to get in there, and therefore dismissed any possibilities of him being in the closet nearby as well.

Oh how wrong they were.

-

Duo sat silently in the dark closet. His eyes had become accustomed to the small amount of light coming out form under the door. However, this only reminded him of the time he was captured by OZ and thrown in that cell. The thought of being locked away again terrified him to the very core; he had to avoid it at all costs.

Pain pulsated in his arm as he felt the wound bleed through the makeshift bandage. There wasn't much he could do except add more pressure with another torn bit of cloth. Tying the bandage was just as hard as before, but Duo was glad to find that the gunshot wound was finally beginning to clot and scab over.

After a few moments, he settled back against the cold wall. He tried to stay alert, but he inevitably began to doze off. Duo nearly jumped when he heard heavy footsteps outside his closet.

The former pilot tried to stay as silent as possible, hoping with all he had that they did not open the door. He quietly drew his gun, pointing it up, ready to fire.

He knew for sure that the thunderous pounding of his heart would alert them to where he hid, but it did not. After a few moments, Duo heard someone say, "It's locked. There's no way he could 'a gotten in here. Let's go look somewhere else."

He saw the shadows of footsteps under the door disappear. He was safe.

Duo let out an inaudible sigh, nearly collapsing against the wall with relief.

-

After several hours of searching, the soldiers reported back to Colonel Berry.

"We're sorry sir, but we couldn't find him. We looked everywhere, but he must've gotten away from the school while we were distracted."

The colonel cussed very loudly, letting loose a string of quite profound words. "Dammit! Are you sure you searched everywhere?!"

The soldier nodded, "Yes sir…"

"Grr… Well do a quick search of the area around the school. If he's not there then…" Colonel Berry hated to admit it, "Then he's gone. There's nothing we can do if we can't find him."

Without a word, the soldiers went off to follow their latest orders. However, nothing would come of their struggles.

-

By the time school got out, the soldiers were already gone. They had failed.

Students filled the halls, hurrying to get home.

Dianne, however, waited alone. She sat at a table out in the lunch area, thinking of all the possible places Duo could be hiding.

Her heart clenched at the possibility that he had been captured; and what terrors lay ahead for him if he had. She forced herself not to think of that.

Dianne waited an hour or so before she went looking for her lost friend.

She looked in the theater, the locker room, that weird little crawlspace by the gym, here, there. But she didn't find him. Finally, as she walked down the main hall, it dawned on her. The tower room!

Quickly, quietly, Dianne made her way up the old stairs to the remains of the building's second story. She tried the door of the tower room, finding it locked. However, she was clever enough to not disregard the closet as well.

She placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted. The door opened… she gasped.

-

Duo remained silent in the closet for quite a while. He had lost track of time, but the light coming out from under the door told him it was still daytime. He had decided that, when night came, he would slip out under the cover of darkness.

The former pilot kept his eyes trained on that little strip of light at the base of the door, constantly watching for trouble.

And trouble came.

Duo tensed as he heard more footsteps outside the closet. Only this time, they weren't as heavy, but still not something like sandals or heels. He heard the person fumble with the tower room doorknob again, then, after a moment, turn and place their hand on the closet door.

The knob twisted and light poured into the closet, revealing Duo huddled on the floor, left arm stained with blood. His gun was pointed at whoever dared find him.

However, he did not attempt fire until his vision cleared enough for him to see. And he was glad he waited.

"D-Duo? …Duo! Oh I'm so glad!" before he knew it, the former pilot was enveloped in Dianne's embrace. She had found him.

"Dianne! What are you doing here?! It's not safe! They'll catch you!" he gently pushed her back, worried.

"It's ok," she assured him, "those soldiers are gone now. They couldn't find you, so they left… Oh I'm so glad they didn't get you!"

"They're gone? That's a relief," Duo said, more to himself. The former pilot stood, tucking his gun in his belt; Dianne hadn't even noticed he had it.

"Oh no, you're hurt," she said, pointing out his bloodied arm.

"It's nothing," he stepped out of the closet, peering out the window at the top of the stairs.

Duo turned around, grabbing Dianne by the arm, his expression had become gravely serious. "Are you absolutely sure those soldiers are gone?" he demanded

She was shocked by his tone, "Y-yeah. They left before school got out. Were you seriously in that closet the whole time?"

He ignored her question, "Alright. C'mon, we have to get to my apartment. They haven't seen you with me so you'll be safe."

Pulling her with him, Duo quickly made his way down the stairs. The soldier within him taking over, he led her out of the school building and out of a side exit of the campus. They ran down the sidewalk till they finally reached their block.

"Duo," she huffed, "You can calm down, they're gone."

"That doesn't mean they won't come back," his voice was dark, completely lacking any hint of his optimistic façade.

By now, the pair had reached his apartment. Duo didn't even bother to redo the locks as they entered. "Sit," he said, pointing to the sofa.

Before she had the chance to speak, he had already pulled out his cell phone, dialing a number that he obviously knew by heart.

"Hey Heero, It's me… yeah… sorry… I said I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up! …be quiet a sec, would 'ya? ...Thank you. But I meant to say, I blew it. They found me already."

Dianne heard the person on the other line yelling something. _Heero…_ she remembered Duo talking about him. They had worked together…

"I know! I know. G's gonna kill me when he finds out, but for now I need somewhere to hide… 'Not if I kill you first'? You know you can't do that Hee-chan," Duo paused to chuckle a bit. "But seriously, where are you? I'm leaving right away so depending on where you are you can expect me in a few hours… ok… got it. I really owe you one Heero, see ya!" he closed the phone, turning back to Dianne.

"Y-you're leaving?! But you've only been here for a week! Duo, you can't go!" she ran to put her hands on his shoulders.

He simply shook his head, "You heard what I said on the phone, you were there this morning; I got caught."

Duo turned and disappeared into his room for several moments. He closed the door behind him, so Dianne did not follow.

When he returned, Duo held a large black duffle bag and his gunshot wound was properly bandaged. She followed him as he went to the kitchen, pulling several weapons from the drawers. Dianne gasped.

"What? You honestly didn't think I wouldn't have these? After seeing what I'm capable of?" he wasn't in a very good mood.

The former pilot pulled his gun from his belt, checking to make sure it was fully loaded.

"Oh my god!" she gasped; she just couldn't believe her eyes. She couldn't comprehend all that Duo was hiding.

He ignored her and tucked his gun at the small of his back. Duo then proceeded to pack up stuff around the TV, and then went to fetch some things from the bathroom.

Once he had everything gathered together, Duo left the small apartment. Dianne followed him out to the parking lot, not saying a word.

The two walked to the very back of the lot, finally stopping in front of an unused-looking motorcycle.

"Is that yours?" she asked.

He simply nodded, putting his duffle bag on the ground. Duo stood like that for several moments, his back turned to Dianne.

After a minute or so, he turned to face her, his violet eyes full of regret. "Remember how we were talking about the Gundam pilots yesterday, and you thought 02 was the scariest?"

She nodded, "Where are you going with this…?"

"I'm him; I'm the pilot of Gundam 02, Deathscythe." He paused for a moment, expecting her to reject him without hesitation, "I'm a cold-blooded killer, Dianne. I should have never become friends with you; and I should've been more careful when I blew up that base… I can't stay here anymore; you won't be safe if I do."

He hugged her for the briefest of moments before grabbing his bag and climbing onto his motorcycle, "Sayounara." With that, he sped away, leaving Dianne standing there, alone.

That was the last she saw of him.

* * *

**yes, he's gone. hehe little phone conversation with Heero. he's in japan, i'm sure, so it'd be _really_ early in the morning for him when duo called XD **

**so, till next time! jaa ne!**


	6. Epilogue

**this is it! and no, i dont think i'll be continuing this from the small hint down there... i don't see any plot in it, ya know what i mean? **

**well anyways, it means so much to me to finally finnish this. but still, i'm sad to see it end XD it was sooo fun to write. i never thought i'd ever get this far :) anndd i'm so glad i posted it. lol all of you who reviewed are my heroes right now. (i still love you other silent people too... but my faithful reviewers get all the cookies) XD **

**yes, so i'll probably be disappearing for a while again, but you never know... in fact, i kinda wanna start working on APPS again... remember that fic? yeah...**

**haha well enjoy the ep-i-lo-gueeee**

* * *

Epilogue

Eventually, things began to settle down. Dugan returned to school, but there was no more bullying. People wondered where Duo had gone, but no one knew; not even Dianne.

Ms. Evans came to Dianne at one point, asking if she knew where the former pilot had gone, since she knew they were friends. She asked if he had gotten caught by those "wretched soldiers," and the girl smiled softly and shook her head.

"No, I don't know where he went, but I'm sure he didn't get caught. He wouldn't let that happen."

The English teacher looked very relieved.

None of the other teachers asked about Duo, however. Some suspiciously eyed the empty desk, and others didn't care enough to wonder where he had gone.

Dianne found herself wishing that she had gotten to spend more time with the former pilot, gotten to know him better before he disappeared. But she knew why he was gone, and she knew that he was never coming back.

Exactly a week after he had vanished, Dianne sulkingly came home from school. She dropped her backpack on the ground and sat heavily at her computer. She went to check her email, as always, and found a message with no subject or sender. _That's weird…_

She double clicked the email, revealing the message in another window. As she read it, she gasped, and had to read it several more times before she could fully get a hold of what it was saying.

The message read:

_Dianne-_

_I'm really sorry about what happened last week. I wish I could apologize in person, but that's not really possible. It's my fault that all this happened. I should've been more careful and not gotten so involved. I just want you to know that everything I told you that day was true. I really did do everything I was accused of. _

_I don't know when you'll get this message, or if you even will, but I just want you to know, that week we spent together was the best. I'll never forget you. _

_And just in case you were worrying about me, I'm safe here. Heero will keep me out of trouble, that much is for sure. _

_Again, I'm really sorry about all this. I'm going to promise you something: when this war is finally over, I _will_ come and see you again. I swear it. _

_One more thing before I go, please delete this email from your computer. I don't care if you print it out and save it; just make sure that you delete it. I attached a special virus that will completely wipe it from your hard drive when it's deleted, so there's no way they could use this email to get to either of us. _

_I'm sorry, and goodbye._

_-Duo_

**and ohhh what a happy ending! **

**until next time guys! byeeee! :D**


	7. Alternate Ending

**so, this is what i've been working on for the past few weeks! i really wanted to work more on this story, and i wanted to see what would happen if i made things take a turn for the worst. i think i like this ending a lot better :D **

_**ATTENTION:**_**this takes place when Duo is hiding out in that closet in chapter 5. **

* * *

Ethereal Life – Alternate Ending

Duo sat silently in the dark closet. His eyes had become accustomed to the small amount of light coming out from under the door. However, this only reminded him of the time he was captured by OZ and thrown in that cell. The thought of being locked away again terrified him to the very core; he had to avoid it at all costs.

Pain pulsated in his arm as he felt the wound bleed through the makeshift bandage. There wasn't much he could do except add more pressure with another torn bit of cloth. Tying the bandage was just as hard as before, but Duo was glad to find that the gunshot wound was finally beginning to clot and scab over.

After a few moments, he settled back against the cold wall. He tried to stay alert, but he inevitably began to doze off. Duo nearly jumped when he heard heavy footsteps outside his closet.

The former pilot tried to stay as silent as possible, hoping with all he had that they did not open the door. He quietly drew his gun, pointing it up, ready to fire.

He knew for sure that the thunderous pounding of his heart would alert them to where he hid, but it did not. After a few moments, Duo heard someone say, "It's locked. There's no way he could 'a gotten in here. Let's go look somewhere else."

"Wait a moment, that closet there might be open; he might be in there," Oh no! They were going to find him!

Duo stiffened even more, if that was possible, and tried to stand. He scooted over, trying to position himself so that he could shoot at the soldiers the second they opened the door.

The former pilot heard the knob turn; the fear, the need to escape was killing him. The door opened and Duo shot with all he had.

One guard went down, then two. There were two left and he was out of bullets; he couldn't take the time to reload his gun, not now.

Panic washed over Duo as he shot forward, ramming into the soldier closest to him.

The former pilot pushed the man past the other, knowing he was headed directly towards the stairs. The soldier lost his balance and fell, pulling Duo down with him.

At one point on the way, tumbling down the flight of stairs, something very hard struck Duo in the head. His grip on the soldier instantly loosened, stars dancing across his vision.

When the world finally came to a standstill, the former pilot was too dazed to get up and run, as was the soldier that fell with him. However, the guard he had pushed past now loomed over him, gun pointed directly between Duo's eyes.

The soldier that fell sat up dazedly, hand on the side of his face. He looked to see the former pilot sprawled on his back, a small pool of blood forming beneath his head.

The unscathed guard holstered his gun, walking over to crouch at Duo's side. He waved his hand in front of the former pilot's unfocused, violet eyes; there was no reaction.

"Look at 'im Kev', out cold," the soldier grabbed Duo's braid, roughly pulling him up. The former pilot instinctively winced, but it wasn't enough to wake him up.

The other guard, Kevin, waited a moment before responding, getting over the last of his dizziness, "Well I can certainly understand why…! Heh, well we better get him back to the Colonel before he comes to."

Kevin the OZ soldier stood up, wobbling slightly, "Can you take 'im Chris? I don't think I'll be able to do much for awhile after that…"

"Yeah, no problem; and just be glad you didn't end up like the other two," Chris looked sideways up the stairs; a silent respect to the two soldiers that Duo had killed. The soldier lifted the former pilot up, insensitively slinging him over his shoulder.

--

The two soldiers made their way to the front of the school, one of the pair carrying Duo.

"We've captured him, sir," said the guard.

"Excellent job, men!" complemented Colonel Berry. The man watched with an evil smirk as the soldiers loaded the former pilot into one of their many vehicles, not being gentle with his unconscious body in the least.

He'd finally be able to get his revenge.

--

By the time school got out, the soldiers were already gone. They had succeeded.

Students filled the halls, hurrying to get home.

Dianne, however, waited alone. She sat at a table out in the lunch area, thinking of all the possible places Duo could be hiding, given he was still on campus.

Her heart clenched at the possibility that he had been captured; and what terrors lay ahead for him if he had. She forced herself not to think of that.

Dianne waited an hour or so before she went looking for her lost friend.

She looked in the theater, the locker room, that weird little crawlspace by the gym, here, there. But she didn't find him. Finally, as she walked down the main hall, it dawned on her. The tower room!

Quickly, quietly, Dianne made her way up the old stairs to the remains of the building's second story. She tried the door of the tower room, finding it locked. However, she was clever enough to not disregard the closet as well.

She placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted. The door opened… she sighed.

It was empty.

However, upon closer inspection, Dianne spotted a few drops of blood on the floor.

It had to be Duo, he had gotten hurt escaping the English classroom, and this was where he came to hide. She just knew it.

Dianne took a step back and took a deep breath; she could smell something heavy in the air, no doubt blood. Blood and sheer terror.

Shaking her head, she turned and headed to her locker. She had taken Duo's backpack after English class and stored it there, and now she knew that it would come in handy.

Dianne took the black bag into the bathroom, locking herself in one of the stalls. She then began to search through Duo's backpack, hoping to find his keys or anything that would help her.

Smiling, she pulled out Duo's house keys; this was exactly what she needed. Now she could get into his apartment and find someway to contact his friend Heero, and rally up a search party.

--

Dianne entered Duo's apartment. The place looked exactly the same as it had a few days ago.

She walked into his room, opening up his computer. She stared at the login screen for a moment; what could his password be?

She tried 'Shinigami,' but that didn't work. It just seemed too obvious for that to be it.

Dianne thought and thought and thought. Finally, something came to her. It was a stretch, but it just might work.

She typed it in and, low and behold, the computer accepted the password.

'gundampilot02'

Something in her head had just clicked; Duo's interest in the Gundam pilots when they watched the news together last night, how he had barely hidden a laugh when she mentioned pilot 02, all his scars, how he had such amazing fighting skills… it was all making sense now.

He _had_ been fighting in the war, yes, just not on the side she had assumed… only now she understood.

Dianne blinked, regaining focus. She opened up his email and looked for his contact list. It took her a moment to find it; the program was very confusing, probably to scare off anyone who had hacked into the machine from finding information on him.

However, after a few minutes of determined searching through all the tabs and whatnot, she found a short list of contacts. There were a total of five names on the list: Heero, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and someone called Professor G.

She opened Heero's file and read its contents. It had his email, yes, but what she was really looking for was a phone number.

"Aha!" Dianne quickly pulled out her phone and dialed the number she saw on the screen.

"_Yes…?"_ whoever picked up sounded like they had just been asleep.

"Um… Is this Duo's friend, Heero?" Dianne stuttered; she never actually thought about what to say.

The person on the other line was instantly awake, yet he tried to hide his surprise, _"It is, but how do you know who I am? How did you get this number?!"_

She took a deep breath, "All that doesn't matter right now. What's important is I need you to get here as soon as possible… Duo's been captured by those soldiers… please, you have to help him!"

There was no way Heero could hide his shock now, even through his monotone, _"Duo what?! Damn it!"_ he sighed, _"Alright… I'm not supposed to, but I'll help you out. I'll find your location from the cell-phone signal and I'll be there in a few hours. Wait for me to get there. And don't try to do anything on your own; calling me on an insecure line was bad enough."_

With that, the line went dead and Dianne gasped, her plan had actually worked!

Dianne closed Duo's laptop and went to sit on his bed. She looked around the room, it was so _plain_. Just a bed and a dresser and a computer; no posters, no fancy lamps, no nothing.

--

Dianne waited at Duo's apartment well into the night. She had dozed off on the bed when she heard the front door open in the other room. A quick glance at the clock told her it was already morning.

She walked out of the bedroom to see a boy about Duo's age with brown disheveled hair. He wore a baggy, green tank top and dark spandex shorts. He looked incredibly tired, despite his deathly serious cobalt stare.

_This _was Heero Yuy.

--

Heero sat up in bed, still holding his phone. He was shocked at the news he had just received; he could hardly believe it.

Duo had gotten himself captured again. Heero had to get his friend out of there, but doing so would risk his own discovery… the Japanese pilot decided that saving Duo was more important.

Shaking his head, Heero stood and went to his ever-present laptop. He hooked up his cell phone and used one of his many homemade programs to find exactly where the girl had called from.

--

Heero grumbled something along the lines of "Omae o korosu" as he boarded the plane to America.

If his calculations were correct, which they always were, he would be arriving where the girl had called him from at about the same time he got the call from her in his apartment. This was going to be a hell of a long trip.

--

"Y-you're Heero?" asked Dianne as she walked into the room.

He nodded, "Yes. And who are you and how do you know Duo?" he took a few steps toward her, looking somewhat menacing.

"I-I'm Dianne Roth… me and Duo are friends at school…" she took a hesitant step back.

Heero sighed, he should have known that Duo would go ahead and make himself known. He bet that this girl even knew that Duo was a Gundam pilot. However, Heero wasn't admonishing Duo's telling her, he knew it was a major part of the American teen's personality to trust people very easily. He knew that because he was the exact opposite. "Alright, well can you tell me the details about how he got caught?" he asked, trying not to sound mean; he instantly recognized the slight look of fear in her eyes.

Dianne nodded, "Well three OZ soldiers came into our first period class yesterday morning saying that they suspected him of blowing up their base on Wednesday… but he beat them up and ran out of there. I'm pretty sure one of those soldiers shot him in the arm on his way out. I don't know what happened in between then and when I went looking for him after school, but I think that he was hiding up in the closet by the tower room when they got him, cuz I saw some blood on the floor in there."

"Can you take me there? To where Duo was?" asked Heero, his voice void of emotion.

She nodded, "Yeah, let's go." Dianne headed to the door, Heero following.

As the two walked down the street, early Saturday morning, the girl decided to make small talk with the Japanese teen. She figured it would help get both their minds off of Duo's capture.

"Um… so where did you come here from? It sounded like I had woken you up when we talked on the phone yesterday…"

Heero cast a sideways glance at her before answering. If this girl already knew about Duo, then he wouldn't have to keep everything a secret. "I just came here from Japan…"

"Wow, and you don't even have an accent! Can you speak Japanese?" Dianne asked in amazement.

"Hai, mochiron… yes, of course," he replied.

She smiled, despite the situation, "Duo talked about you a lot. You guys are really good friends, aren't you?"

Heero looked up. He just felt so open to Dianne, like he could tell her anything and everything; he wondered if Duo had felt the same way. "Absolutely. We work best together, and at least for me, we keep each other sane."

"You two are really lucky then. Duo is a great guy," said Dianne with a sad smile, "I just hope he's okay…"

'_OZ is going to pay if they so much as lay a hand on him,'_ thought Heero. Duo had gotten off lucky last time he was captured; OZ had no grudge against him except for the fact that he was a Gundam pilot…

"Did Duo do anything to upset OZ?" asked Heero, seemingly out of the blue. He added in a whisper, "Besides blow up the OZ base?"

Dianne looked at him, "Yeah… yeah he did. He got in a fight with the son of the guy that runs that place."

Heero's eyes darkened, "Dammit, he's going to be in bad shape once we get to him, that's for sure."

Dianne sighed as they came up to the school, "Well, here we are. It's probably locked, so we might have to hop the fence."

"It doesn't matter if it's locked; I'm not as good as Duo, but I can open any lock and trip any alarm."

The two came up to a side gate of the school campus, and Heero pulled a small lock kit from the old green backpack he wore. He messed with the padlock for a few moments before it clicked open.

The Japanese teen cast suspicious glances around him and Dianne before pushing open the gate. The two walked onto the school campus.

"This way," said Dianne, leading Heero to the main building.

He looked around him for any sense of danger; the soldier instinct within him was nearly impossible to suppress.

"It's locked. Can you open this?" asked Dianne, calling Heero's attention to what was in front of him.

"Aa," he grunted, undoing the lock. Next came the hard part. He usually left disarming the alarm systems to Duo, but this time he'd have to do it himself' his friend's life might as well depend on it.

Heero pulled out his laptop from his backpack. There was a small logo sticker on the tiny window of the door telling the name of the security company the school used. He hacked into their website, sending a signal to shut down the school's alarm system for the rest of the day.

It took several minutes for Heero to complete this task, and once he was done, he heaved a sigh and put his laptop away.

"I've disabled the alarm; we can go in now," he stated emotionlessly.

"Already? I'm good with computers and all, but I have no idea how to do that kind of stuff…!" gasped Dianne.

As Heero pulled open the door, he said, "I'm not as fast as Duo, but disarming an alarm system is easy once you get the hang of it."

The two walked down the main hallway in silence before Heero asked, "So where is the tower room…?"

"It's in here," said Dianne as the two turned to walk into the Office Wing. She nodded to the sign hanging on the ceiling that read 'Tower Room.'

The two made their way up the stairs and she led him to the closet, opening the door. The blood stain was still there on the floor.

Heero knelt by it, running a finger over the red, "Duo… please be alright…"

Shaking his head, he pulled out his laptop yet again; he opened up OZ's website, "Duo destroyed the base in this town, right?"

She nodded.

"So that means he was probably taken to the nearest OZ facility now that that one's gone," he searched for OZ bases in the area.

After a few moments, Dianne asked, "…You find anything?"

"Yes," he answered. "There's another base about an hour from here by the coast. No doubt that's where they took him."

"Ohhh I hope he's okay! Are you gonna go rescue him?" she asked, voice displaying her desperate need to see her dear friend back safely.

"Not yet. I need to rest and thoroughly plan the rescue. If I don't go in there prepared, I could get caught and you would never see Duo or me ever again," Heero sighed. He was incredibly worn out from the long hours of traveling and there was no way he could stage a rescue in his state.

"Oh… okay… well let's leave then. You can stay at my house."

Heero put away his laptop and stood, closing the door of the closet, "I'm sorry. I would rescue him now, but…"

Dianne held up a hand, "Its okay. I understand. If anyone, I know you'll be able to bring him back alive."

His cobalt eyes met with hers and he nodded, silently vowing to go find Duo as soon as he could.

--

"Well here we are! I don't have a spare bedroom, so I hope the sofa is okay…" said Dianne as the two walked into her house.

"That's more than enough. Thank you for letting me stay here," he said, sounding quite grateful to finally get some rest. Heero dropped his bag onto the floor beside the sofa and nearly collapsing onto the cushions. Dianne could've sworn he was asleep before his head even hit the pillows.

She smiled as went to get him a blanket.

--

Meanwhile, Duo struggled to regain his senses. Acting on his training to become a Gundam pilot, he kept his breath and heart rate even, as if he was still dead to the world.

He listened around him for any signs of danger. He heard none. He couldn't hear anything.

Duo dared to open his eyes a bit, but he saw nothing. It was pitch black. For a moment he wondered if he had gone blind, but then he realized the stupidity of that possibility.

He remembered that OZ had come to capture him, but everything else was a blur. Past experiences told him that the gap in his memory no doubt had to do with the burning ache in the back of his skull.

Duo sat up in the darkness and instantly regretted it. He felt so dizzy that he was back, lying on the cold floor, in an instant.

He heaved a sigh.

The former pilot waited a moment before trying to rise again. He sat up very slowly, closing his eyes against the daze.

It was then that Duo noticed the ominous weight on his wrists. He knew that feeling: OZ handcuffs.

"Dammit!" he breathed.

Just like last time, Duo crawled to the nearest wall and sat against it. His entire body ached, but the gunshot wound in his arm hurt the worst; he didn't doubt that it had reopened.

Mere moments, or several hours could have passed before light flooded the pitch black cell. Part of him expected to see Heero standing there, just like last time, but the rest of him knew he would not be so lucky this time around.

Duo hissed against it as the light burned his eyes, but he forced himself to look at who loomed in the doorway.

There was a tall, large, mean looking man followed by two average soldiers standing at the mouth of the cell. The large man stomped into the tiny room, casting a dark shadow onto Duo. The man spoke, voice gruff and equally as mean as he appeared.

"Duo Maxwell. Do you know who I am?"

Duo growled, "Oh, I know you, General Mean-and-Ugly from the Shithead department."

The man sneered at Duo before lifting him up by the throat and slamming him into the wall, "Wrong." The man's eyes glittered with evil intent in the shadows, "I am Colonel Berry, commander of the base _you_ destroyed Wednesday. And I'll also have you know, that that boy you beat up was _my son!"_

"I see…" Duo gasped, bound hands clawing at Berry's wrist. "So you want… revenge…?" he was not afraid of the punishment he was about to receive, just pissed beyond reason.

"Yes." Next thing he knew, Duo was flat on his back on the ground.

The former pilot stifled a gasp; he would not let them be satisfied by his pain. He would not let himself cry out as Berry slammed his heavily booted foot into Duo's chest. He only showed defiance as he was kicked over and over again.

The pain was unbearable, but he would never let them know. Even as he hung limply in Berry's grasp, having been slammed into the wall yet again, he only glared with hatred.

"Is that… it? Is that… your revenge…? That's… weak…" Duo ground out, body trembling against the pain he fought to ignore. Nonetheless, his violet eyes blazed; their life was not yet lost.

Berry smirked, ignoring the insult, "For now. I'll give you some time to lick your wounds, good-for-nothing brat." Before he turned to leave, he flung Duo into another wall of the cell.

The former pilot sank limply to the floor, consciousness wavering. He paid no mind as the soldiers left, the door sliding shut behind them; the cell was plunged back into darkness.

Duo slumped to the floor, lying on his side, clutching his chest. He was sure that several of his ribs were cracked, if not broken. Until now, he had never really acknowledged the fact that OZ soldiers wore steel-toed boots.

The last coherent thought that crossed his mind before darkness took him grumbled at the nearly impossible chance of escape. He knew he'd never make it out on his own in his current state.

--

Duo had no sense of time in his pitch black cell. All he knew was that sometime later, he awoke to the cell door sliding open yet again.

He looked up dazedly as Colonel Berry walked in to face him. Duo was still too out of it; the pain radiating through his body was deafening all his senses.

All his senses except the ability to feel pain, that is.

Berry must've said something and expected a reply, because Duo received a very sharp kick to the stomach.

He instinctively curled into himself, but he would not show the agony that was burning through him.

"Did you hear me, brat? Your _real_ punishment is just about to begin," snarled Berry. The man reached down and grabbed Duo's braid, using it to drag to former pilot to the middle of the cell.

Berry then proceeded to beat Duo until the teen was on the verge of crying out and begging him to stop. The former pilot was getting close to exceeding the limit of how much pain and abuse his small body could handle.

It was obvious that Berry did not care about obtaining information from Duo. He hadn't asked a single question about who he worked for, or anything of the like. He simply wanted revenge. And the former pilot had no idea how far the man was willing to go; he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"Had enough?" smirked Colonel Berry as he saw a single, agony-filled tear slip past Duo's resolve and slide down his dirtied cheek.

The former pilot remained silent, body trembling. He was too busy reassuring himself that he was a Gundam pilot and that he could handle the pain to hear the man's words. He couldn't take much more of this…

Taking Duo's silence as a hint to continue, he drew a handgun from his belt. Coincidentally, this was the very gun that he had confiscated from Duo right after his capture.

Berry used his foot to roughly shove the former pilot so that he was lying flat on his back, wrists still bound in front of him. Duo's pain-filled eyes stared up blankly, despite the small, fading spark of hope hidden in their violet depths.

Berry smirked and turned off the gun's safety. He took aim and fired, the bullet blasting through the bones in Duo's arm, and lodging itself in his stomach.

It was then that Duo finally cried out. He still had not reached his limit, but he had not expected the sudden shock of the bullet creating a hole in his arm and stomach.

"Heh, well that certainly got to him," commented Colonel Berry as he nodded to the two other soldiers that had accompanied him. He holstered the gun and left the cell, leaving Duo to writhe on the floor.

--

Heero woke with a start, instantly reaching for his gun as he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar surrounding. A moment later he realized where he was and relaxed back onto the sofa in Dianne's living room.

He sat up and heaved a sigh. He reached for his tattered green backpack and took out his laptop. It was time to devise a plan to rescue Duo.

"Good evening, sleeping beauty," joked Dianne as she walked into the room.

"Hn," Heero acknowledged her presence but did not turn to look at her. His focus was on hacking into the OZ website and finding the layout of the base he had to infiltrate.

Dianne sat down on the sofa next to him, picking up the blanket he had inevitably kicked to the floor while he slept. What Heero was staring at so intently on the computer screen looked like a confusing jumble of lines to her.

A few moments later, Heero leaned back and pointed at a spot on the screen. "That's where they're keeping him, I'm sure of it. OZ facilities always have special prison cells that are light and sound proof. If you know what you're doing, they're easy to break into, but impossible to break out of," he explained in his monotone.

"Wow… and I assume you know how to open those cells?" asked Dianne, studying the computer screen.

"I do. I was the one who broke him out of one of those the last time he got caught," said Heero, a very serious look in his cobalt eyes. He said his next words more to himself than to Dianne, "But he needs to be more careful, because I won't always be there to rescue him…"

Dianne decided to change the subject a bit, "So when will you be going? Nighttime would be best, right?"

"Exactly. And while I'm at it, I'll blow up the base as well."

--

About two hours later had Heero speeding down the highway on his rented motorcycle. His backpack contained several bricks of C-4, all hooked up to a remote controlled detonator. His gun was tucked into his spandex shorts, ready to use.

Streetlights flashed across his vision. And he leaned heavily to the side, steering the motorcycle down the exit that would take him to the OZ base. He could faintly smell the salty sea air, but he could not see the ocean itself.

Heero came to a stop, turning off the motorcycle and filling the surrounding area with silence. He was about a hundred yards from a tall barbed wire fence that surrounded the OZ facility. The Japanese teen waited a few moments before running to the fence. He glanced around to make sure he was out of sight before snipping a hole in the fence with a pair of wire cutters.

Heero bolted through and into the shadows, staying as far as he could from the bright white stadium lamps lighting up the facility.

This was one of the larger, more complex OZ bases.

The prison cells were in the underground floor of the huge building, so Heero would have to find a staircase or elevator to get there. He would also set up several explosives there to bring the entire building down.

But first, however, Heero snuck into the first mobile suit hangar he came across. Dozens of Leos and Aries were lined up there, perfect to cause a domino effect of explosions.

Careful not to be seen, he snuck into the cockpit of the Leo in the very center of the hangar. He placed a block of C-4 on the control seat and activated the devise that would ignite the fuse when he set off the detonator. He continued this for the other hangars of the facility.

Heero had managed to stuff about 16 blocks of the explosive into his backpack beforehand, and the bag was significantly lighter by the time he entered the main building.

He slipped down the halls, avoiding every guard and camera that he came across. As he came to what he knew was the center of the building, he finally found a staircase leading down.

Heero ran down the flight of stairs as fast as his legs could carry him, and returned to the shadows before he was discovered. He found a small, empty closet near the staircase and stacked four blocks of C-4 inside. He activated them and ran to the perimeter of the basement floor.

He placed one block of the explosive at each of the four corners. Now that the bombs were set up, it was time to find Duo.

Heero made his way towards the area of the basement that contained the individual prison cells. He pried open the bars and knocked out the lone guard before he was noticed.

All the cells were open except for one. That was where Duo was.

--

Duo lay on the cold floor, clutching his wounded arm. He had no idea how long he had been locked in that cell; through the pain he was feeling, and the daze clouding his mind, it felt like he had been in there for months on end. Nevertheless, he knew one thing for sure: it had been far too long.

Colonel Berry had returned a short while ago (at least that's what it felt like), only to beat him for several minutes before leaving. However this time, his abuse had consisted of verbal damage as well as physical; leaving Duo with an almost empty, worthless feeling amongst all the pain.

"You worthless piece of shit!" he had yelled as he punched Duo in the gut.

"You'll never leave this place alive! You'll die by my hand!" he had growled as he jabbed his foot into Duo's chest.

"It's your fault that my son is in the hospital!" he had screeched as he lifted Duo up by his braid.

"You should have died last time you fought for your worthless cause!" he had ridiculed as he nearly crushed Duo's windpipe.

Even through all the pain, the former pilot had heard every word. Even though he knew not to believe it in the least, the verbal abuse still stung as badly as the dizzying hit he had just taken to the head. He just hoped it wouldn't screw him up as badly as the wounds that littered his body.

Through his agony filled haze, Duo had vaguely heard the man happily saying something about bringing his son as soon as he was well enough to go. That meant that Dugan was going to land a few hits on him as well.

Duo groaned, not from the pain, but from the humiliation and beatings that were to come. He curled into himself more, despite his body's protests, trying to get warm as the hot blood left his body.

He soon found himself to be losing consciousness again. He welcomed it, gratefully embracing the nothingness as it took him. He didn't care if he was to never wake up… as long as he never had to face Berry again, he was happy.

None too soon was Duo awakened to someone gently shaking his shoulder, holding onto his cold, beaten body.

He faintly heard his name being called, the familiar tone worried but still indifferent.

Duo looked up, thinking, _'What a cruel dream…' _

--

Heero too the small key-card from the soldier's belt and swiped it at the lock of the cell. The little screen flashed green, happily displaying OPEN.

The door slid open and light flooded the dark cell.

Heero's eyes darkened as he saw Duo curled up on the floor of the cell, back facing him; he was obviously in pain.

Heero was at Duo's side in an instant, sitting his friend upright against his chest. The Japanese teen gently shook the American's shoulder, frowning at how cold and pale the other had become.

"Duo, Duo wake up. I came to get you out of here," Heero's monotone sounded quite worried as he stared pleadingly at his friend's motionless form.

A few moments later, Duo's glassy violet eyes slid open slightly. He looked dazedly at Heero, wondering if the other was really there. "What a cruel dream…" he whispered, voice already broken.

The Japanese teen said nothing as he took out his lock kit and undid Duo's handcuffs. He then took some gauze from his backpack and quickly bound the gunshot wounds in the American's arms. He would've done more but time was running out before guard shifts changed and he got caught.

Heero quickly lifted Duo into his arms and bolted from the cell. Even though he had only been locked up for a few days, he couldn't help but notice how frail and broken the American had become.

The Japanese teen avoided all the guards and security cameras, going out the way he came. He tirelessly bolted out to the fence surrounding the facility. Duo remained inanimate in his arms the entire time.

Heero carried the braided teen through the small hole he had cut into the fence not much earlier.

He hurried to his motorcycle at the side of the road, sitting Duo in front of him.

Duo made a small noise of pain. As he reached up to the handlebars, Heero's arms had pressed against the American's terribly bruised chest.

He kicked the kick-start and swerved onto the road. He had to take the back roads in order to avoid getting noticed.

Just before Heero was out of the blast range of all that C-4, he pulled out and activated the detonator.

A moment later, the road and sky were painted in red and yellow as a huge gust of wind blew past Heero. He didn't even have to look back to know that the OZ base had gone up in flames.

--

Heero drove and drove and drove. Taking back roads to Duo's town took at least twice as long as on the highway.

He hoped with all he had that Duo would make it until he got him to the hospital.

Heero could see the city lights on the horizon; he was almost there…

--

Heero carried Duo into the emergency room, demanding that the doctors see him right away.

Though he would've preferred to stay, to make sure his friend was properly cared for, Heero left as soon as the doctors and nurses took Duo deeper into the hospital.

The Japanese teen was not supposed to even be on this continent, and he could not stay for much longer. But if he had to, he would; he'd just have to be extra careful.

Silently sighing, Heero rode back to Dianne's house. He had instructed the girl to wait there for him, and if he had not returned by sunrise, that meant he had failed. If that happened, he had told her, then she was to forget about him and Duo and go on with her own life, like the past week had never happened.

She had left the door unlocked for him, and when he walked in, she was sound asleep on the sofa, the TV droning on quietly.

Heero closed the door behind him and locked it. He went and turned off the TV. However, he couldn't help but catch a glance at the news channel she had been watching; no doubt there had been something airing that had to do with the Gundam pilots.

He didn't bother waking her, and sat down at the small table in the kitchen. He would leave now, but he knew that there wouldn't be and planes leaving to Japan until morning.

--

When Dianne woke, she was briefly filled with despair to see that it was morning and Heero had not returned. However, as she walked into the kitchen, she saw him dozing quietly at the table, his head resting on his folded arms. She didn't want to wake him, but…

"Heero…" she gently shook his shoulder.

His eyes flew open and he automatically reached for his gun. After a moment, he remembered where he was and why he was there. Heero relaxed, "Sorry…"

Dianne was almost afraid to ask, especially after seeing that the Japanese teen was slightly on edge, "D-did you rescue Duo…?"

He nodded, "Yes… and I took him straight to the hospital; his wounds were too much for me to take care of on my own. There's no doubt that that OZ soldier who wants revenge against him will hunt him down again, so Duo is still not safe. However, he is in no condition to fend them off now."

"Well can't you protect him? I know you've already done so much, but all that would be worthless if he got caught again," pleaded Dianne, as if stating the obvious. Her eyes were locked with Heero's.

He was silent for a moment, "I can, for now. I really shouldn't stay here, but you're right. When he wakes up, I'll give him a choice. He can either leave with me, or he can dispose of the people who want him dead and stay with you.

Heero stood and walked to the living room, knowing Dianne would follow him. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. They were talking about the OZ base that Heero had destroyed.

"…_It is very possible that the destruction of both these facilities trace back to the rebellious Gundam pilots. Several men died in the explosion last night, including General Kris Cain, and a visiting officer, Colonel Michael_ _Berry. We will mourn their families' losses…"_

The Japanese teen clicked off the TV and went to pick up his backpack. He walked to the door, "It won't be long until Berry's men figure out that Duo didn't get caught in the explosion, and we don't know if they will come after him or not, so we should go to the hospital."

--

After a solid hour of waiting and convincing the doctors to let them see him, the two finally made their way to Duo's hospital room.

When Heero and Dianne walked into the room, Duo was already awake, staring blankly ahead. He didn't notice them.

--

When Duo was pulled into the conscious world again, he couldn't discern whether or not he was dreaming. He could clearly remember being locked in that cell, but it felt incredibly unreal. However, the pain was undoubtedly real.

If Duo had not actually been dreaming, which was what his instincts told him, then he had no idea how he got from there to this hospital room. He could vaguely remember Heero hovering over him, but the Japanese teen was clear across the globe… or so he thought.

Duo shifted on the hospital bed and instantly cringed against the pain. He glared at the IV in his arm, knowing that the dosage of pain meds was for that of an earthling, not for someone from the colonies, and definitely not for a Gundam pilot.

It felt like white hot flames were searing through his chest. His back arched slightly and a strangled moan pushed itself past his lips.

Through the agony, Duo reached up and loosened the clamp on the IV a bit, upping the dosage slightly. It was something he always had to do when he ended up in the hospital, so he knew how far to go and not end up with an overdose.

After only a few moments, the pain faded considerably, and he found himself falling into a daze. He didn't mind.

Duo stared up blankly, now feeling the full effects of the pain medication. The dose was just barely strong enough, and it was making him so sleepy…

"Duo! Oh my god I'm so glad you're okay!"

--

Dianne and Heero walked into Duo's hospital room. The braided teen's arm was in a sling, and his wounds were heavily bandaged. His violet eyes stared off in a daze.

"Duo! Oh my god I'm so glad you're okay!" exclaimed Dianne as she hurried to his side. Heero remained at the doorway.

The braided teen lazily turned his head to face her. "…Dianne? How d'd you know I was 'ere…?" he slurred, the drugs weighing down his consciousness.

She looked at him with a very worried look in her eyes, "Heero brought me to see you. He rescued you last night, don't you remember?"

He remembered, "So it wasn' a dream…" his eyes were threatening to close, and he didn't fight it.

With a stern look on his face, Heero walked over to the bed. His focus was on the IV drip, however, as he tightened the clamp enough that the medicine would not affect Duo's consciousness.

"Duo," he said in his monotone, calling for the other's attention.

However, despite Heero's attempts, the braided teen was already asleep, his body gladly taking the chance to rest.

Dianne looked up at Heero, "Why did you…? He'll be in pain if he doesn't—"

He cut her off, "Duo is a Gundam pilot, he can handle it. And he needs to be as alert as possible right now."

--

The two waited a few hours for Duo to wake up again. The moments passed in silence, Dianne constantly getting a 'do not disturb' vibe from Heero.

The Japanese teen leaned against the wall, eyes closed, instinctively listening for danger. Dianne sat at the side of Duo's bed, waiting patiently for him to wake.

Eventually, the braided teen's violet eyes opened and he stared up at nothing.

"Duo?" she asked, afraid that he was going to fade again.

He seemed much more lucid this time, however, "Hey."

Heero looked up and walked over to the foot of the bed. His monotone was as serious as ever, "Duo, you have two choices."

The former pilot turned to stare into the other's eyes, "Eh? What're you talking about, Heero? And what the hell are you doing here in America?"

The Japanese teen crossed his arms over his chest, "Those OZ soldiers are most likely going to come after you again. You can either leave them all behind and come with me, or you can stay here and dispose of them yourself if they come after you."

Before Duo could speak, Dianne spoke up for a moment, "The man who hated you… Colonel Berry… he died last night when Heero blew up the base you were at."

Duo looked at her for a moment, but the expression on his face said that what she had said only solidified his decision, "I'm staying here. I don't want to leave yet."

Dianne looked up at Heero, anticipating his response.

His voice remained emotionless, "Very well. I will stay here until you're ready to take them on alone."

Duo smirked, but still sounded grateful, "Thanks, Heero. Thanks a lot."

--

The next few days went without incident and Duo was back at his apartment. Heero stayed with him during this time, and Dianne went over every day after school.

On Monday afternoon, Dianne told Duo all about the gossip circulating around the school.

"Everybody's talking about you. Half the school thinks they caught you, but everyone else says you got away."

"They obviously don't know what really happened then…" said Duo, somewhat serious, somewhat sarcastic.

"Exactly. And one thing is for sure, as far as I know, everybody is on your side. They all say you're innocent," she continued.

"That's good. But one question; is Dugan back…?" he asked apprehensively, almost feeling pity as he said the bully's name.

She shook her head, "Nope. Rumor is, someone told the principal that he had a knife on campus and a whole bunch of kids lied that he threatened someone with it. And to add onto his troubles, they expelled him. Those people are pretty cruel," she said matter-of-factly.

Duo felt a little bit sorry for the guy, but Dugan should have never picked a fight with him in the first place. "Karma is a bitch, isn't she?" laughed Duo, but he instantly stopped as his chest throbbed painfully. Yeah, karma.

He really hated the time it took for his wounds to heal after he got himself into trouble.

"You okay?" asked Dianne, putting her hand on his arm.

Heero looked up from his laptop to glance across the room at Duo for a moment, before dismissing him and going back to what he was doing.

"Yeah…" wheezed the braided teen. He reached for the small bottle of pain pills and glass of water from the coffee table.

--

Duo waited a full week before returning to school. He kept his gun on his person at all times now; and, even though Berry was dead and Dugan was expelled, he remained alert constantly.

"Duo, are you sure you want to go back to school with me? I'm glad you are, but I don't know if it's the right thing to do…" asked Dianne as the two walked to school Monday morning.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Anyways, how could I miss out on all the fun when everybody sees me back after _that_ incident?" he grinned. By now, Duo's arm was rapidly healing in a cast, black of course, and his bruises were fading. Nonetheless, he was returning with battle scars.

She smiled at him, "That _is_ going to be pretty cool, especially since I acted like you were still gone all of last week… oh, and it's too bad Heero couldn't stay, he was nice to have around."

Duo laughed, "Well you'd get sick of him sooner or later! He never talks or nothin', he's just there… it gets to you eventually…" his tone became quite serious, yet he kept a funny expression in his face.

She laughed.

--

As Duo and Dianne walked into the English classroom, all eyes were on the former pilot.

Whispers echoed through the classroom:

"He's back!"

"Look, he's hurt!"

"What the heck happened to him?!"

Duo smirked at them and went to sit as his desk. He turned to look at Ms. Evans; she was smiling at him, glad to see that he had returned.

The bell rang a moment later and the teacher turned to the rest of the students, "That was the bell, so all quiet in the peanut gallery! You can finish your gossip _after_ class…"

--

When Duo stood on his role call number in PE, Mr. Carter did not notice him until he walked right past.

"Duo! Gone for a week, thought you'd never come back!" the teacher patted him on the shoulder.

Back in the locker room after PE, Duo tried to change quickly, but it was somewhat difficult with the bulky cast on his arm. The bullet wound in his stomach was still not completely healed, and his chest was still slightly bruised.

Just after Duo pulled off his PE shirt, the boy across from him called for his attention, "Could you hand me my pants? I might need those…" he asked in a flat tone, nodding to a pair of jeans that had fallen to the floor on the former pilot's side of the bench.

Duo smirked and picked up the pants, handing them to the boy. It was then that the other caught sight of the many bandages wrapped around the former pilot's stomach.

"Whoa, dude, you really got screwed up!" commented the boy. His name was Jason and he looked slightly like Trowa… just enough to make it creepy. "What the hell were you doing all last week?!"

Duo smirked, pulling on his black shirt, "Last week? I was sleeping all this off." He motioned to his arm and other wounds.

--

History was a replay of English class, as was math.

At lunch, both Julian and Lewis came over to Duo and Dianne's table.

"Welcome back, man" greeted Julian.

Duo smiled, "Thanks. Oh, and I heard about Dugan getting expelled… and about his dad…"

Lewis spoke up, "It's fine. We're all sorry for him, but everyone's honestly happier with him gone… Even April. She hasn't talked to him in over a week."

"That's good I guess… there really is hope for this school," smirked Duo.

"We just wanna know one thing though, you stayin' around this time?"

The former pilot smiled at Dianne, "Of course. This place is just too much fun."

--

In his TA class, Ms. A looked at Duo in shock. She had never expected him to return! She thought for sure that he had gotten himself into some sort of permanent trouble and was gone for good… but Duo had proved her wrong.

In biology, Mr. Johnson gave the former pilot a high-five, happy to see that he was back to stay.

Duo went to Dianne's house after school, and the two did their homework together.

"So you're really going to stay? You're not just gonna randomly disappear in a few weeks?" asked Dianne.

Duo nodded, "Yep, I'm not leavin' yet. Besides, there are so many OZ bases around here; I'll be busy till this time next year!"

She looked at him, expression serious, "Please try not to do too much damage… those are human lives you'll be destroying…"

His violet eyes met hers, "It's my mission to destroy all the OZ facilities I come across. Those soldiers will be dying to avenge the deaths of the innocent people murdered in the colonies… like Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. This has to be done. But I can promise you one thing, I won't get caught again, I swear."

She lowered her gaze, "I guess I can live with that…"

--

At around noon a few Saturdays later, once his cast was off and his wounds were healed, Duo knocked on the front door of Dianne's house. She opened the door, still in her pajamas.

"Duo? What's up?" she asked, confused as to why he didn't call.

He smiled at her, "Go get dressed, there's something I wanna show you."

"Show me? Okay… but do I have time to take a quick shower first?"

"Sure, but hurry, cuz it'll be worth it," he said with a mischievous smirk.

About twenty minutes later, Duo was speeding down the back roads on his motorcycle. Dianne was sitting behind him, arms wrapped around him to hold on.

"Where are we going?!" she called over the wind whipping past them.

"You'll see!" he called back.

Not much later, a huge, abandoned factory came into view.

Duo turned at the driveway, driving all the way up to the largest building.

The former pilot pulled over, shutting off the bike. He got off and motioned for Dianne to follow him, not saying a word.

He unhooked a ring of several keys from his belt and undid the many locks on the door. Duo pulled it open and the two of them walked inside.

"Whoa…! Is—is that…?" gaped Dianne.

"Yep, it is," smirked Duo, hands on his hips.

Before them was Deathscythe. The giant Gundam was lying on its back, inanimate, yet still menacing.

Duo led Dianne closer, helping her climb up to the hatch.

"So you pilot this thing?" she asked, amazed. She had seen rare photos of the Gundams on TV, but she never had any idea they were this huge… or amazing.

"I do indeed. You wanna sit inside?" he reached down and opened the hatch.

"I'd love to!" she smiled.

He nodded and helped her climb inside. She wrapped her hands around the control sticks, smiling from ear to ear.

"Don't push any buttons," instructed Duo as he reached in and started up the computer systems. He closed the hatch, letting Dianne get a full experience of being inside a Gundam.

Within Deathscythe's cockpit, Dianne was in awe. She could see Duo standing at the hatch through the monitor in front of her. It was like she was standing right there next to him.

"_Whaddya think?"_ he smirked, his voice coming in through the speakers.

"It's amazing! Just… I have no idea how you work this thing…" came her reply.

He reached down and opened the hatch, "A mobile suit becomes like an extension of your body once you master it. I can fight in any model, but I feel most comfortable when I've got Deathscythe."

Duo helped her out and hopped into the cockpit. "Check this out," he said.

Dianne looked down at him in the control seat, smiling. Something just looked so _right_ about the scene before her. Duo belonged in the world of the Gundams and the war, so that's where he had to stay, no matter what. She just knew that a daring life full of battles and danger was the one that he wanted to live. And she knew that he would.

Snapping out of her musings, Dianne watched as he pushed several buttons and moved the joystick in his right hand.

Deathscythe's enormous right arm lifted up, holding some sort of staff-like device. He gently pushed forward a small lever, and a huge, white hot beam emitted from the staff.

"This is my major weapon," he said, "It's a Beam Scythe."

Dianne was speechless. She could hardly comprehend the destructive power Deathscythe… no, Duo was capable of. It was insane.

He grinned and shut down the Gundam, climbing out and closing the hatch.

Duo helped her down to the floor of the factory building. "I hope you don't mind staying here for a bit, cuz I gotta get some stuff together," he said as he went to open up a storage compartment hidden in Deathscythe's shiny metal plating.

"It's fine… but by stuff, you mean bombs, right?" she asked, her tone showing no signs of disdain, despite her words. She stared up at the giant Gundam.

"Yeah… but that doesn't matter. Its something I have to do and that's all," his voice pleaded with her to change the subject. He knew that this was something that neither of them wanted to discus.

Dianne turned to face him, "It's okay Duo, I understand why you have to do that and I'm not going to stop you. I don't want to stop you," she said, a soft, reassuring smile on her face.

"Thanks," he glanced up at her for a few moments before returning to what he was doing.

"Anyways," she said, "your Gundam really is amazing."

He laughed, putting several blocks of C-4 into his backpack.

Once he was done with the C-4 and such, Duo climbed up to Deathscythe's hatch again. It amazed Dianne how easy that was for him, like he had done it hundreds of times… which she knew he had.

The former pilot opened up the cockpit and she heard him rummaging around for several minutes. She could've sworn she heard him grumbling "Where the hell did I put that detonator…?!"

A few moments later, Duo came over to where she could see him.

"Wanna see something else cool?" he asked.

"Sure," she smirked.

He disappeared back over to the cockpit, and a few moments later, music erupted through the building. Deathscythe's stereo system was blasting something by Breaking Benjamin.

"That's so flippin' awesome!" she cried over the music; she doubted that he heard her.

A little while later, Duo and Dianne rode back to her house. He dropped her off before leaving for his next mission.

"I'll be back later tonight, so don't wait up for me!" he joked.

"Okay! Be careful!" she smiled.

Duo gave her a mock salute before speeding away.

--

Duo remained in that small town for the rest of the school year. He and Dianne became very close friends during that time.

Near the beginning of summer, Duo got an email saying that the boys were to return to their duties as Gundam pilots. He was reluctant to leave, but he desperately missed fighting in his Gundam like the old days…

They had a teary goodbye and Duo promised that once the war was over, he would come back.

That day, Dianne watched the horizon. She managed to catch a glimpse of his Deathscythe speeding over the skyline.

The months passed, and the war with the colonies finally came to an end. Duo returned, fulfilling his promise.

Now that the Preventers were setting up all around the world, Duo took a job at the base not too far from the little town.

He and Dianne spent all their free time together, laughing and telling stories about the time that they were apart.

At her request, Duo started training Dianne how to fight and how to use a gun. She was a natural. Eventually, she applied for a job at the Preventers and was, after a few strings got pulled, assigned as Duo's subordinate. He continued to train her and she did her best on every mission. As time passed, Dianne became a much better soldier, and she was soon able to become Duo's Second. Their team was one of the best.

It was a happy ending.

THE END

* * *

**so, what did you think? i think the very end is kinda lame, but i still love it. and yay for heero rescuing duo! XD **

**and for those of you who care, i'll try to work on **Inazuma ga Hikatta **again... sorry i havent posted for it in so long X'D**

**bye! thanks guys!**


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